Azumanga Daioh: Higher Education
by ZaXo Ken'Ichi
Summary: COMPLETE: The Azu girls are now in college. What's better than college right? College with six crazy eccentric girls, that's what. Comedy, drama, violence, romance, and much more is bound to ensue. They're ready... are you? REWRITTEN!
1. Prologue

**Okay this is obviously the beginning of my Azu Fanfic WHICH HAS BEEN REWRITTEN in a more intelligent format... for the second time, lol. The story is the same, but the language should be more engaging. For those new to this fic, everything you need to know will be explained in the Prologue and First Chapter, so I obviously don't need to say it here. **

**I promise you that, if you don't just make the assumption that it's just a pile-of-dirt self-insert, you won't be disappointed. It's _not_ a self insert. Also note that, if you want to get a grasp on the primary new OC and who he is, then go to my FictionPress and read the Prequel to this; "ZaXo's Story". You can find a link to my FP account on my profile page. It also explains why he has such a strange name (everyone asks about that, lol). Personally though, I think the prequel is better if you read this first ;)**

**For those few who felt compelled to re-read this fanfiction, I hope you enjoy the language updates. I don't own anything that has to do with Azumanga Daioh, which all belongs to its respective owners and companies. Well, Happy Reading :)**

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**Azumanga Daioh: Higher Education**

**By: ZaXo Ken'Ichi**

**Prologue**

**Pre-Chapter 1**

The clearest, most comfortable April night was just beginning to fall across Japan, leaving a peaceful serenity to all of it's residents. The bright lights that rose from the city of Tokyo prevented the stars from showing clearly, though it in no way ruined the calming mood. There was a slight, warm breeze in the air, that felt like a loving embrace to all those out at that current hour. The steady miniature gust was just powerful enough to carry seven newly fallen petals from a Cherry Blossom tree that was overdue. On the petals flew, whisked along gracefully by the winds, until they came to rest in a large yard.

The yard was covered in green, lush grass, and had a path that led up to an equally impressive house. The white home stood two stories high, many large windows covering its face, along with a magnificent wooden front door in the center. There were two large trees, one on each side of the yard, and flowers up across the whole front of the house. The massive yard and impressive house within were both protected by a giant white wall that stood about twelve feet tall, and had two huge, green metal doors front and center. Beside the gate was a buzzer system with a video screen, so that the owners could see who their visitors were, and choose whether or not to let them in. On the buzzer system was a plaque that simply said 'Mihama Residence' along with the address for the home.

Many people in the area simply thought that this house -the biggest around- was owned by some rich business owner. They were correct in the assumption, however, he wasn't the only one living in the home. Also inside was his wife, Mrs. Mihama, and his daughter, who was now fourteen; little Chiyo Mihama. Chiyo was sleeping soundly in her bed, a big white dog resting at her feet. The young girl was having pleasant dreams of her and two of her best friends conversing merrily, as they strolled through the park near her home. Just as the group passed over a bridge near the center of the park, the scenery around her began to change, morphing into another location she seemed to know quite well, though it was much more vivid than the park she had just been in. Chiyo was now all alone in Class Three of the high school she recently graduated from. She instinctively sat in the desk she usually did up in the front, but her mind was immediately wrought with confusion as to why nobody else was there.

As she started to ponder where they may be, the door at the front of the room slid open, and in walked a boy who looked to be much older than her. Chiyo had never seen him before, but somehow felt a strange connection with him. _'Where is Ms. Yukari?'_ she wondered to herself, looking him over. But before she could ask her question aloud, she felt the answer come to her. Chiyo knew that this boy was supposed to be a sort of mentor to her, so she figured he was substituting.

The boy stood about six feet tall, and was neither thin nor big. But oddly, he was the only thing in the dream that wasn't far more vivid that normal. In actuality, no matter how hard she looked and how much she concentrated, Chiyo didn't seem able to grasp at what he looked like. He simply stood there while frustration slowly enveloped the young girl. Why couldn't she see who he was? The mysterious boy casually stepped closer and closer to little Chiyo. With each step he took, her mood swiftly changed from frustration to something else entirely. She couldn't point to exactly what, but something about this strange person was warm and pacifying, and it calmed Chiyo down a great deal. It no longer mattered to her what he looked like.

Now standing right next to her desk, the young man reached out and touched his hand to Chiyo's shoulder. In real life, Chiyo would have escaped the stranger long before now as she had been taught to do. But here there was no need to. This was a dream after all, and Chiyo's would-be fears were instead replaced by curiosity. The second his palm made contact with her shoulder, she was consumed by a strange feeling of trust. Though she had no clue who he was, she _knew_ he was friendly.

"It's okay Chiyo. I'll do my best to keep you safe," he told her softly. Chiyo could feel his smile reach her, yet his entire physical being still was too fuzzy for her to actually see it.

As she was about to ask him who he was, the whole entire dream began to fade away once again. She stayed seated in her desk as the classroom as the boy disappeared, to be replaced by a bench in the park near where she had been not long ago. "Hey Chiyo, what's wrong? We're heading off; aren't you coming?" one of her friends asked, now standing a couple of yards up along the path. Chiyo just smiled, and ran to catch up to her two friends. Though it had happened seconds ago, the boy and his words were thrust into the back of her mind, for now, to be forgotten.

**Pre-Chapter 2**

Outside, the winds picked up again, just enough to carry the small petals further along on the night's journey. This time, they came to rest at a much smaller home. There was nothing extravagant about this one, nor was there at most of the other stops the wind would make that night. This home was just a simple, basic Japanese home. The mailbox to the left of the front door said it belong to the Mizuhara family. To the right was a window, that led into the room of a girl at the young age of seventeen.

Koyomi was her name, but everyone just simply knew her as Yomi... at least, everyone she was friends with, which wasn't more than a handful of people. Yomi tended to be a little hotheaded and was a bit apprehensive when it came to new acquaintances. Though she was only seventeen, Yomi was fairly wise for her age, usually being the most rational out of her friends. As she slept, she dreamt that she was trying to study for school, in the desk not five feet from where she was actually sleeping.

She was currently in way over her head, as the stack of homework and tests she needed to take began to grow. Pages upon pages appeared, one after another, adding to the stack until it reached the ceiling. Yomi whimpered as it suddenly toppled over, crashing down next to her. Now each page began to multiply rapidly, taking over her room. She cried out, wishing it would stop. Opening her window, Yomi started to pick up the pages and throw them out, before she was buried alive. The thought of going out the window herself never came to mind. She just couldn't give up like that.

As Yomi grabbed her fourth armful of papers and turned to throw them out of the window, she noticed someone was now standing right outside. She dropped the paper she was holding, as curiosity began to take her over. Who was he? She subconsciously knew he was here to help; to set her free from the struggle and stress she was feeling. Yomi could tell that even though she didn't know him personally, she seemed to feel that they were really close. It was a strange feeling to not know someone who considers you a lifelong friend; someone who _you_ consider a lifelong friend. But it just felt right.

The boy pointed into the room casually, signaling for Yomi to take a look. In her comforting stupor, she had yet to notice that the whole pile of homework was gone. All that was left was a single sheet of paper on her desk, and a pencil. The page was completely blank except for something at the top. Yomi took a closer look to see what it said. 'Relaxation' was all that was written. Yomi looked back for the boy, but he was gone. She sat down at the desk, and grabbed the pencil. As the girl began to write about what would be her ultimate form of relaxation, she lost all immediate memory of the boy she'd just met.

**Pre-Chapter 3**

Once again, the wind began to carry the Cherry Blossom petals along. But this time, they landed only a few blocks away from the last home. Just as with the previous, this house was fairly plain, only being ever so slightly larger. At the top of the front door was a wooden plaque that had the words 'The Takinos' burned in it. At the very back of the house was a small room that belonged to yet another female. The door had all kinds of pictures and things taped to it, though it was all rather messy and had no real organized feel to it. The girl inside the small bedroom went by the name Tomo. She was very deep in sleep at the moment, drool dripping from her mouth onto her pillow.

Tomo was busy dreaming she was in the air, flying high above the city of Tokyo. She was out looking for people to save. The front of her shirt said 'The Tomonator', and she was wearing a great red cape. As she hovered over the city, she suddenly noticed what appeared to be an old woman being harassed by several hoodlums. Tomo swooped down to confront what she now knew to be about ten gang members. They were surrounding the poor old woman in an attempt to take her valuables. Tomo held her hand up as she landed, warning them to stop, or they would have to face her wrath. The old lady's eyes widened in glee as she saw Tomo, but the muggers just chuckled casually. Tomo wondered why they were laughing when they knew they were about to be pummeled. The leader of the thugs shook his head slowly, and held up a small leather bag as if it was a weapon. The front of the bag was simply labeled 'The Tomonator's Weakness'.

Tomo's eyes lit up in shock, knowing full well what was inside the bag. The girl now realized that she didn't have a chance at winning, but refused to give up. Before she could valiantly face certain defeat, someone else suddenly flew down and landed next to her. She couldn't tell who it was, but felt that could she see him clearly, he would probably fit into her category of 'attractive'. Immediately she knew him to be her sidekick, but she couldn't get a clear grasp at anything else about him, including his 'heroic' sidekick name. She could however feel that he was trustworthy and brave, which was proven as he ran toward the lead mugger. The boy grabbed the bag, and crushed it into dust before his enemy could react. The young man then turned to Tomo, and gave her a salute before flying off.

Tomo watched him for a second or two before lowering her gaze back to the stunned muggers, cracking her knuckles. She smiled a devious smile and began to take them each down with a single punch, before any of them could defend themselves. Tomo didn't yet realize that she had completely forgotten who had just allowed her to save the day, and simply continued beating the evildoers down.

**Pre-Chapter 4**

For the fourth time, the small zephyr picked up the petals and carried them along, this time to a house on a corner, quite a few blocks away. This home belonged to a family who had been there for just over three years. The writing on the door under the knocker said 'Home to the Kasugas'. Down the very small hallway at the end of the house, was an open door. Inside it rested another girl; Ayumu Kasuga, who was about the same age as the last two. The girl was drooling far more than the last one, though she was strangely a fairly light sleeper.

However, even in a light sleep Ayumu still dreamed. Her fantasy world consisted simply of an infinite space made of white nothingness. However, inside this deep, blank canvas were many odd, seemingly random items just floating about. Ayumu just stared at everything, trying hard to think of what she was going to do next. As she unsuccessfully thought on, someone she didn't know walked up next to her. It was a boy who was her age, but she couldn't tell exactly who he was, or what he was doing there. While she stared curiously at the boy, ideas of all sorts began flooding her mind. As soon as a new idea would find its way into her mind, a couple of the items around the space would come to life, and start flying off into the distance. After several minutes, they began forming something giant, though Ayumu didn't yet know what it was. On and on she stared at the boy, constantly finding waves of new and amazing thoughts flowing through her head. Very quickly, the giant makeshift object grew until it had finally finished forming.

Ayumu broke her eyes from the boy to look at what had formed. Front and center was a giant castle of the likes she had never seen. It was big enough to fit anything and everything she could ever want inside. Yet the amazed girl didn't seem to want to fill it with any material possessions. After all, it already consisted of pretty much everything she'd ever wanted. Ayumu decided that she was going to instead fill it with all the creative knowledge she could muster. She turned to ask the boy if he wanted to join her, but he was gone. The girl simply shrugged it off, and walked on toward her new home. By the time she opened the front door, she barely knew the boy existed, much like if she had bumped into him in a hallway.

**Pre-Chapter 5**

As it had been doing all night, the gust picked up the fallen petals, and carried them to their next destination. This house was fairly close to the last one, and was almost the exact same model. The only real difference was a banner across the door that said 'The Kaguras' House'. Back in the same room as in the last house, was a young woman who had just turned eighteen. Her name was Shun Kagura, though she just went by Kagura most of the time. The athletic girl had come in from running not too long ago, so she was still a little sweaty. She was so tired when she came back, that she almost instantly fell asleep, completely clothed. Her sleep was the deepest of all so far.

Even in her midnight vision, Kagura was running. Though this time, she was in a race. Kagura was already far, far ahead of everyone else in the race and quickly began to grow bored. All she wanted was a little competition, but nobody was even close to catching her. They just succeeded in falling further behind. As the finish line peeked over the horizon ahead, Kagura looked behind, hoping against hope that someone was catching her up. To her surprise, a boy of her age was now hot on her trail. Grinning at the challenge, she gave it all she had. But the mysterious runner continued to catch her, until they were dead even. The race quickly became very heated as they both sprinted at full speed. The two of them breathed heavily, sweat dripping from their faces, neither willing to give up.

The finish was finally in sight, and they both forced out an extra burst of speed. When the pair crossed the line, it was obvious there was no clear winner. It seemed as if they had both broken the tape. Kagura truthfully didn't care whether she won or not, as she just liked having to push herself. The boy offered her a bow and she bowed back, showing respect and honor to each other. And yet, when she looked back up, he was gone, with no trace to be found. She started to wonder about where he'd gone, but was suddenly swarmed by her countless fans and friends. As they congratulated her, Kagura too almost completely forgot ever meeting the boy. She just went on as if she had won the race in an all out victory.

**Pre-Chapter 6**

The warm breeze picked up again, gathering its passengers, and continuing on. The petals next came to a halt back a few blocks from the first stop they had made that night. The current home was not quite as large as the first, but it was still larger than the rest of others so far. It was two stories tall as well, but had a smaller yard, and a smaller outer wall, with a classic, black iron gate. The buzzer for this house did not have a video screen like the first house, but the fact that the house had a big gate and buzzer at all, said that the owners were clearly not poor, or even average in class. The label on the buzzer said the address, along with 'Sakaki Residence'. Up on the second floor, at the front, right window to the house was a bedroom. The room was covered in pink and purple, with many stuffed animals on the shelves. In the bed was a girl who was also eighteen, though she looked twenty at least. She was very tall and shapely, and wore a pure and innocent expression as she slept. Her name was Yoshiko Sakaki. Yet, like the previous girl, she went by her family name as well; Sakaki.

In her dream, Sakaki was walking across a field of grass and flowers. It seemed endless, which she felt was comforting. There were many cute animals following her, and birds perched themselves on her shoulders. Sakaki just smiled and blushed while she walked on, in pure bliss.

But such bliss was not eternal. Within an instant, the field disappeared, and so did the animals. Sakaki gasped and cried out, as her feet left the ground, or rather, the ground left her feet. It all vanished from under her, the young girl now falling into a seemingly endless pit of darkness. Everything around her was black as pitch. Her hair flew up above her as she continued to plummet ever further.

Sakaki cried out for help, but none came. Again and again she yelled, hoping someone would come to her aid, but nobody responded. By now, she was way beyond what was suppose to be the terminal velocity for a human. Tears began to flow from her eyes. At the rate she was falling, they should have fell from her eyes, and then her speed should have left them far behind. But they simply left her eyes and fell with her, inches from her face. Tear after tear accumulated in front of her, as if she had suspended time during a rainstorm. Sakaki however, was too frightened and bleary eyed to notice. After another minute, the girl wiped her eyes off and gathered up the strength to looked down... at precisely the wrong moment.

At her speed, Sakaki was about five seconds away from the ground, which looked like a black-board with white chalk lines showing the roughness of the terrain. Sakaki closed her eyes, and brought herself in, ready for impact. However, it never came. Five seconds went by... then ten... then twenty, and thirty. When a minute had finally gone by, she opened one of her eyes to look down, sure that when she did so, she would hit the ground in a cruel twist of fate. But she didn't. Sakaki was instead hovering a few feet above the rocky, hard looking landing spot. A mixture of confusion and happiness filled her as she realized she wasn't dead, and was no longer falling.

Sakaki opened her other eye, and relaxed her body, looking around to see what could have saved her. The blackened walls to the chasm were gone, and a few feet in front of her, Sakaki saw a boy that looked to be about her age. She couldn't seem to make out what he looked like, but she knew that it was him who freed her from deaths grip. Sakaki put her feet to the ground, and stood up from her floating state, as the tears that had been lingering with her fell to the ground. They each landed softly to make small splashes of white on the dark surface. She was glad to be on solid ground again. Her heartbeat, which had been racing just a minute ago, was now completely calm. She felt relaxed and safe around this mysterious boy. "Th-thank you..." she stammered, bowing. He bowed back and then proceeded to point behind her.

Sakaki looked back to see that the cliff was no longer there. Instead it was replaced by her field of flowers and grass. She turned to face her companion in elation, and saw that the blackness that was behind him was also once again a beautiful field. She could feel him smiling at her, as he walked up and touched the side of her face with his palm. It felt so warm and invitingly caring to her. Sakaki blushed and closed her eyes. Seconds later, she opened them and found herself in her dark bedroom. "It was just... a dream?" Sakaki whispered to herself. She still felt a touch of warmth on her face, but couldn't remember what it was from. She already had no real recollection of the boy, but knew there was something special about that dream. Glancing over at her clock, Sakaki realized that she still had about two hours before she had to get up for her first day of college. The tall girl laid her head back down with a deep sigh, and fell back asleep at once, no longer thinking of her last dream, and why it seemed so important.

**Pre-Chapter 7**

The wind didn't pick the petals up for the next two hours. When it was finally time for their last stop, the warm gust brought the seven petals to another house in the same neighborhood. It was another rather large home, and had just been purchased by a family from the U.S.A. They had a son who was eighteen years old, and today was his first day at college. The boy had the rather strange first name of ZaXo, and he had adopted the 'family' name, Ken'Ichi in order to fit in here in Japan.

The alarm in his room went off, signaling that it was time for ZaXo to get ready for his first day of school. He was so excited that he sat bolt upright the second the alarm sounded. As he did, a sudden and strange image burst forth from his mind's eye, for just a fraction of a second. It looked like it consisted of him and several people about his age, but it was gone before he could get a good look. ZaXo figured it had something to do with a dream he must have had that night, which he didn't remember anything about. Nonetheless, he shrugged it off, excited to experience what was bound to be a new and exciting life.

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**K, so that is the prologue, and I invite you to please review it. I think I did a good job with the rewrite, but I would really like some intelligent critiques from others (even if this is your first read-through). Hope you like it so far :)**


	2. A New Companion

**Well, this is the first chapter. I like it a lot, and I think you all may as well. I don't own anything Azumanga Daioh related, as that all belongs to its respective owners and companies. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 1: A New Companion**

ZaXo rubbed his eyes for a couple of seconds while his alarm continued to chime. He shut it off before giving a great groan as he stretched, and then he stepped out of his bed. It felt good to be what he considered an adult. The chance to take on more responsibility for his own life, and really start focusing on what was important in the real world was a very big deal to him. The fact that he was in Japan only added to that great feeling. As ZaXo got ready, he couldn't help but to continue glancing at the college acceptance letter that lay on his bedside table. His parents had wanted him to frame it, though he thought that to be a bit much. The name of the school at the top said 'Hyakuji-Kyouju University' which roughly meant 'everything being given'. ZaXo couldn't disagree with that, at least from what he'd heard anyway.

The school was practically brand new, but was already garnering quite a bit of praise. Part of this was due to the fact that the amount of classes you could take was unimaginable; everything from Aeronautics to Zoology showing up on the course list. The school was actually so new that ZaXo was going to be one of the very first people to attend in its very first year. "Ahh, feels good to be making history," he smiled sarcastically, as he pulled his shirt over his head.

ZaXo fixed his hair so that it was presentable, and looked himself over in his bathroom mirror. He noticed that since he'd graduated from high school a couple of months before, he'd grown about an inch. He smiled to make sure that he'd brushed his teeth well enough, and he went to go get his things ready.

As he walked over to his bag, ZaXo grabbed his required class books, his art supplies, and put his guitar in it's gig bag. He was double majoring in musical theory/recording and manga artistry, so it was important that he didn't forget to bring the supplies needed to learn said subjects.

ZaXo hoisted his guitar bag up by the strap and slung it over his right shoulder, his school bag going over his left. He walked downstairs and grabbed his keys before strolling out the front door. His parents were still asleep, so he did his best not to make too much noise as he closed and locked the door behind himself. As he walked down the long path toward his front gate, ZaXo glanced up into the sky. The weather was fair. He stood to bask in it for a few seconds when a sudden gust picked up. In the gust were seven Cherry Blossom petals, which flew off in a majestic pattern, leaving his yard and making the journey high into the sky. He watched them as they shrunk into the distance; then, silence. The wind had stopped dead almost as soon as it had picked up. '_That was odd..._' he thought to himself.

ZaXo began the walk to school, glancing at everything and everyone that went by. His blissful stupor was broken two blocks down the street however, when he realized that he was missing something crucial to his first day of college; a map to get to the school. He groaned as he realized that he'd completely forgotten to get one, and didn't even figure out where to find one. ZaXo had been to the school before, but only twice, so he only knew the general direction he was to go. Against his better judgment, he journeyed on in that general direction, hoping to meet someone else that looked his age who was possibly heading to the same destination.

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"Tomo, get up. Tomo!" yelled an irritated girl with light brown hair, who was hovering over her best friend's bed. The girl in the bed, Tomo Takino, simply ignored her, seemingly still asleep. Tomo's friend lowered her brow in slight annoyance, dropping her glasses down the bridge of her nose ever so slightly. "C'mon, don't be lazy. It's time to get up."

"Just five more minutes Yomi..." Tomo yawned, rolling over and huddling up under the covers.

"We don't have five more minutes! We're already gonna be late as it is, now get _up_!" Yomi said angrily, pulling the covers off of the bed. "_Up!_"

Tomo simply put a pillow over her head, and ignored Yomi completely.

"Ugh, so it's gonna be that way huh?" Yomi sighed as she opened the drawer to the bedside table in Tomo's room. She rummaged around for a few seconds, a perplexed look growing on her face. "Where is it?" she muttered to herself. "Damn you Takino. Figures you'd hide it the day before school started."

Yomi glanced around the room, wondering where the item she needed could be. Glancing over toward where Tomo was once again fast asleep, she saw what she was looking for hidden partially under the pillow that wasn't covering Tomo's head. Yomi grabbed the air horn and laughed slyly. "Found it," she grinned. Before she could press the button however, Tomo shot out of her bed faster than lightning.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," she mumbled. Yomi pretended not to hear her and blew the air horn anyway. "Argh, what was that? I said I was up!" Tomo shouted covering her ears.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you," Yomi replied innocently, placing the horn back in it's rightful place and closing the drawer. "Now get ready, because we need to make it in time to walk with everyone else," she warned.

"Yeah, yeah, gimme a second," Tomo muttered, walking down the hall toward the bathroom to begin her normal morning routine.

"Well, we wouldn't have this problem if you didn't sleep in so much between graduation and now," Yomi scolded, following right behind her.

"Uh-huh, and you wouldn't be so fat if you didn't eat so much between graduation and now," Tomo shot back. Yomi, who was self conscious of her weight, grew furious at this remark and lunged out at the back of Tomo's neck. Tomo got out of the way just in time, diving into the bathroom, the door slamming and locking behind her.

"Get back out here Tomo! You're gonna pay for that!" Yomi yelled. She waited, expecting another smart remark from her friend, but nothing came. Tomo slowly unlocked the door a minute later and opened it just enough to peek her head out, Yomi was now looking the other way and leaning against the wall.

"Geez, now look at how much time you've wasted playing around Yomi," Tomo grinned, toothpaste covering her teeth, and surrounding her mouth. "That's like five whole seconds late we're gonna be now, and it's all you're fault."

"Shut it and get done..." Yomi said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah Tomo, it's not good to be late to college. It's not like Ms. Yukari's class, where she really couldn't care less. Well, okay, maybe it is. But you're the one paying for the classes," came a new voice, as another woman walked down the hall toward the other two.

"Oh, hey Kagura!" Yomi smiled, delighted to see her friend. She walked over and embraced Kagura warmly. "How have you been? What have you been doing?"

"I've just been exercising a lot. Other than that, I haven't done much besides studying for school," Kagura replied. "I decided that I want to be a P.E. Teacher, and if I can, I want to teach at our old high school."

"That would be cool, but are you sure they'll need someone? Nyamo isn't near old enough to retire, and I don't think she will be in four years," Yomi joked. As she did, Tomo walked out of the bathroom and strolled down the hall into her room.

"I can... I'll just... I'll co-teach?" Kagura stuttered, thinking hard for an adequate answer.

"Well, it's still a few years off, so no need to worry," Yomi reassured her. "My major is in general biology. I really couldn't think of anything else I wanted to do."

"Gee, won't you guys hurry up? You're making us late," Tomo scoffed at them, standing in the doorway to her room, already dressed. Yomi and Kagura looked at each other for a second before suddenly chasing Tomo down the hallway, and out the front door of the house.

Outside they settled down and walked to where they were supposed to meet the others. They were headed for the park in front of where their friend Chiyo Mihama lived, before she went to America for college. "Hey, what's going on?" Kagura pointed out as they turned the corner onto said street. Across from Chiyo's house, Sakaki and Osaka were both turned away side by side, Osaka making huge gestures as if she was talking to someone in front of her. The three looked at each other in curiosity not seeing anyone else around the two girls. They ran up to the group, half expecting that Osaka had gone crazy. When they caught up, they noticed something that made them all jump in surprise and elation. It was Chiyo-Chan that they were talking to.

"Chiyo, what are you doing here?" Tomo asked in confusion. Everyone turned around and looked at her, eyes beaming.

"Oh, hello Tomo. Hi Miss Yomi, Miss Kagura," Chiyo smiled innocently, bowing to her companions. "I found out that you guys were all going to the same college right before I left. I didn't want to be the only one who was leaving, so I changed plans so that we could all be together."

"I guess that makes sense, but why did you want to go to the same school as us rather than some amazing school in America?" Yomi inquired.

"Well, this place seemed just fine, and it had the same degree program as the one I'd have been taking in the U.S. anyway," Chiyo explained.

"So what degree is that?" Yomi wondered aloud.

"I'm going to be a teacher," Chiyo cheered, smiling widely.

"Y-you're going to be a teacher?" Yomi, Kagura, and Tomo all said at once in awe. "What are you wanting to teach?" Kagura asked.

"I'm going for English," Chiyo answered. "And I want to teach at our old school."

"Hey me too!" Kagura announced. "I'm going to teach P.E.!"

"Really? So we'll be just like Ms. Yukari and Ms. Kurosawa? That's great!"

"So what is everyone else doing?" Yomi wondered aloud. "I'm going for biology."

"I'm going to be a lawyer," Tomo shouted. "Yeah, you wish you could do that don't you Yomi? But you wouldn't have been able to get in for that," she mocked her friend

"Shut it Tomo!" Yomi warned.

"I was jus' tellin' Chiyo-Chan an' Miss Sakaki that I'm goin' ta be a rocket scientist," Osaka stated, and everyone's eyes widened in shock.

"How on Earth did you get in for _that_?" Tomo shouted.

"Oh, they said I got the best score out'a everyone on the test ya have ta take ta get accepted," Osaka said monotonously as if it wasn't a big deal. Everyone just stared at her in pure amazement. Finally Sakaki spoke up.

"I'm going to be a botanist," she said quietly.

"I figured you would want to be a vet Sakaki," Yomi told her.

"Well, I do, but I don't think the animals would agree with that," Sakaki joked lightly causing the others to giggle.

"Well, we're gonna be late if we don't get going," Yomi stated and they all began to walk to the school.

"YAY! To Hyakuji-Kyouju University we go!" Tomo yelled, lifting a fist into the air.

* * *

ZaXo was now getting a little nervous, and starting to regret just walking toward the schools general direction. '_Tokyo is too big for something like this to work. How could I have been so dumb?'_ he groaned under his breath. He had asked three different people, but the place was too new for most to know exactly where it was. Just as he was about to turn around and head back to his house in order to look it up, he heard something that perked up his ears. 'YAY! To Hyakuji-Kyouju University we go!' the voice shouted. "Perfect!" ZaXo said to himself.

ZaXo turned around to see a girl his age jumping up and down, along with five others who were clearly embarrassed by their companion's actions. They were walking into the entrance of a park ahead and ZaXo took the chance to catch up to them. "Excuse me. Hey, can you help me?" ZaXo started loudly so they could hear, and a few of them turned to face him. He caught the rest of the way up, bowing politely before he spoke again. "Did you say you were going to Hyakuji-Kyouju University?" he asked nervously.

"Yes, we are. Why do you ask?" a girl with long brown hair and big glasses asked back. They were all slightly taken aback, due in part to his Caucasian features.

"Well, I'm going there too, but I'm totally lost. If it's not too much trouble, may I walk with you?" he inquired.

"Of course. My name is Chiyo Mihama," a shorter girl smiled. ZaXo looked down at the girl. Her hair seemed to be a bright shade of orange, and was put up into two pigtails.

"Hello Chiyo, my name is ZaXo Ken'Ichi," he announced nicely, smiling and bowing once again.

"I'm Shun Kagura, but just call me Kagura," said a girl with short black hair that came across her face at her cheeks. Her hair had an almost purplish tint to it where the sun hit it.

"I'm Yoshiko S-sakaki, but please j-just Sakaki," whispered the tallest girl in the group. She was very pretty, long jet black hair flowing down past her waist.

"Ayumu 'Osaka' Kasuga here. But jus' call me Osaka," the girl next to her announced enthusiastically, though her expression was quite blank.

"I'm Koyomi Mizuhara, but call me Yomi," said the girl who had first addressed him. ZaXo nodded, and looked at the last girl, who was just staring at him blankly, pale as could be.

"And you are...?" ZaXo inquired as politely as he could. She simply stood there, staring at him.

"She's Tomo Takino," Chiyo chimed in.

"What's wrong with you?" Yomi sneered, looking over at Tomo.

"Cat got yer tongue?" Osaka joked, and most everyone laughed, Sakaki blushing profusely instead. Tomo just continued to stare as if she hadn't heard a thing.

"So it's, Tomo, Yomi, Chiyo, Sakaki, Osaka, and Kagura?" ZaXo finished, pointing at them in that order.

"Yep. Good memory," Chiyo smiled.

"Ehh, that was just luck," ZaXo laughed, and they started walking through the park.

"Hey moron, are you coming?" Yomi shot at Tomo, becoming frustrated when she noticed that her friend was still standing frozen in place. The girl didn't move, so Yomi dragged her along with them. Finally after a few seconds, Tomo snapped enough out of it, and attempted to whisper something in Yomi's ear.

"He is so... _hot_!" she half whispered, half screamed. ZaXo felt his face go red with warmth.

The group continued to walk to the school, which was just past the other end of the park. They all talked and got to know ZaXo, who was happy to have acquaintances he could arrive with. When they got there, he wasn't too surprised to find that it was just as busy as the rest of Tokyo, students walking every which way. As they were going up the front steps to the main building, the girls stopped, surprise growing on their faces.

"What is it?" ZaXo asked.

"It's N-n-nyamo!" Kagura yelled, and they all ran up to a women who looked to be about twenty five. ZaXo decided to follow out of curiosity.

"What are you doing here Miss Kurosawa?" Chiyo wondered happily.

"What? You guys don't know? A friend of mine was actually one of the leaders in setting this school up. She convinced the others that I should be the Headmaster at HKU. I accepted because the pay was great, and I wanted to help make this new school a great place to be. Then I saw all of your names on the list of students. Yours shocked me the most Chiyo. I though you were going to America?" the woman finished.

"Oh, I didn't want to be the only one left out, and now that I know you're here, I _really_ would have been," Chiyo answered.

"Well, besides Yukari," Yomi interjected.

"Actually..." Nyamo began and everyone stared at her in awe. "Yukari got a job teaching English here. She begged and begged me, so I hired her. I have to admit, despite the rest of her personality, she is, at the very least, good at teaching English."

Everyone but ZaXo looked flabbergasted at this. He obviously didn't know who she was, but by the way they were acting, he couldn't quite tell whether this Yukari woman working here was a good thing or not.

"And who is this?" Nyamo asked, looking at ZaXo.

"Oh, I'm ZaXo Ken'Ichi. Everyone helped me find my way here," he bowed.

"Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Ms. Minamo Kurosawa," she smiled, bowing in return. "Now, you'd all better get to class."

They each agreed, and pulled out their schedules to check what class was first for each of them. They all gave a little gasp as they found that they each had Yukari first. "She cheated to get us into her class again didn't she?" Chiyo pondered worriedly.

"I guarantee she did," Yomi replied.

"Well, I have her too, so I guess I just got lucky to be in the same class as yo-" ZaXo started, before realizing what was going on. "Wait, I don't need an English class! Why am I in this class?"

"I bet Yukari did it. We'll find out why she put you in the class when we get there I guess," Kagura told him. They all went up to the third floor, and went to Class 3A, which belonged to this Yukari character.

"Wow, that's ironic," Tomo said.

"What?" ZaXo wondered aloud, curious what oddity would next befall this strange group of people he was now with.

"This is the same class number that we've had with her since the start of high school. Do you think she arranged this too?" Sakaki answered quietly.

"I have no doubt in my mind that she did," Yomi responded.

"At least we know won't have to worry about being late from now on," Kagura joked as they all walked into the classroom.

* * *

**The first chapter is over (not like you didn't know, lol), so tell me what you think about it, and how the prologue flowed into it. I greatly appreciate any input, and by doing so you only can help me make my future writing endeavors more successful. Oh, and I have a hard time with comedy, so tell me if the characters personalities fit canonically, and if the jokes are funny. Hope you like it so far :)**


	3. Class Act Cast

**Welcome to the second chapter (of course). I hope you like it. Everything Azumanga Daioh belongs to its respective owners and companies. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Class Act Cast**

When the group stepped through the doorway into Class 3A, the first thing that they noticed was it's size. The room was much bigger than the regular high school room. But they had all seen college rooms before, and this was really no different; large, crescent shaped benches climbing up the wall opposite the teacher's desk. ZaXo had expected his new friends to sit near each other, but they didn't. Everyone chose to sit in random spots around the room, which struck him as odd. '_Are those the seats they sat in when they use to have Ms. Yukari in high school? Does she have that much power over her students?_' he wondered, now standing alone in the middle of the room. The seats in the class were filling fast, so he hurried to find a place near at least one of his new acquaintances.

He thought that it would be best to sit near Yomi, as she seemed to be the most grounded of the group. Then again, he didn't know much about Osaka, and kind of wanted to know more. ZaXo made the decision to sit near Osaka, but as he walked toward the front row, he heard someone shouting his name from the left, near the entrance to the room. "Oh, ZaXo... ZaXo! Come sit next to me! You know you want to!" Tomo yelled to him, winking in a sexy manner. He could already tell that this might not be the best idea, but it would be rude if he refused.

ZaXo slowly started his way back toward Tomo's end of the class, but was stopped when Yomi grabbed his arm. "I warn you. Don't sit next to her. You won't get anything done."

ZaXo thought it over for a few seconds, looking at Tomo's almost 'giddy' expression as she waved him over. "Hey, I already know English, so it's not like I need to worry much. It's a free credit whether she distracts me or not. Besides, I could try to keep her from getting off track," ZaXo told Yomi.

"Oh, no you can't. She won't ever listen with you near her," she quietly said back, so that Tomo wouldn't hear her.

"Well..." ZaXo started, looking about the room. Every one of the seats near his other new friends were taken, and Tomo was still calling him over. "It's kind of too late now," he shrugged, continuing his journey to the left side of the room.

"Whatever..." Yomi sighed, rolling her eyes as she began rummaging through her bag. ZaXo meanwhile took a seat next to Tomo, who immediately wrapped herself around him and snuggled up to his arm. In shock, ZaXo pulled away, his face going warm.

"What? You don't like me?" Tomo said, giving him puppy dog eyes, and a pouting lip.

"Well, uh, don't... don't you think that was a little random, and kind of fast? I mean we just met... and we're not even dating," ZaXo replied, still in shock. Obviously she was over her shyness she was experiencing earlier. Tomo thought for a few seconds before answering.

"Yeah, you're right. So how about this? Will you go out with me?" she asked him, resting her chin on her hands, and staring into his eyes. ZaXo tried hard to keep his eyes from connecting with hers.

"Umm, I don't think that's a great idea. We don't even know each other."

"Yeah, but you're really cute, and that's enough for me," Tomo stated, still staring intently at him. She looked him over before speaking again. "Yup, you look great, and you'd have to be crazy to think I don't. C'mon, you know you can't resist dating me."

"I'm sorry Tomo, but I think we should get to know each other more first," ZaXo decidedly told her, though he could still feel a strong heat in his cheeks.

"Alright, but you can't get away from me," Tomo winked, right as the teacher came in the room.

"Hey Miss Takino, looks like you've got yourself a boyfriend," Ms. Yukari said, walking up to them.

"No, that's no-," ZaXo started, before Tomo interrupted.

"Yeah, his name is ZaXo Ken'Ichi. Isn't he cute?" Tomo grinned excitedly, wrapping her arms around ZaXo again.

Yukari stood staring for a minute before deciding on an answer. "Too good looking for you..." she muttered, just loud enough for Tomo to hear.

"What did you say? I can get better looking guys than you Yukari!" Tomo growled, as ZaXo attempted to get out of her tightening grip.

"It's Ms. Tanazaki to you Tomo, and for that remark, you'll be getting extra homework tonight," Yukari responded smartly, grinning wide.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go sit back here," ZaXo told them, finally breaking free of Tomo's arms, and starting to walk up the benches furthest in the back.

"Hey, wait," Yukari shot at him. _'What now?'_ he pleaded with himself. "She said you're ZaXo right?" Yukari inquired, referring to Tomo.

"Uh-huh, that's right," ZaXo sighed, turning to face his teacher.

"Then you need to come with me."

"What? Why do I ne-" ZaXo began, but Yukari cut him off.

"You're going to be helping me teach," Yukari told him.

"I'm gonna be doing _what_?"

"You need to clean out your ears. You're helping me T-E-A-C-H, teach. Why else would a native English speaker be in an English class? Really now," she replied. "So, come down here and write everything I say on the board. If you don't, I'll fail you right now," she smiled deviously at him.

"Alright," ZaXo said, bowing reluctantly, and followed her to the front of the class. Everyone stared at him as he walked, Tomo blowing him a kiss. Sakaki blushed at Tomo's actions, while Yomi shook her head, and rolled her eyes.

Class began, and ZaXo started writing everything that Yukari told him to. It wasn't bad work, but he wasn't the best at writing with Kanji, and often got a little stuck. But whenever he had to write in English, he had no problems. Finally, she broke the class up to practice their English. He didn't know much about college, but he was sure that this was more of a high school way of teaching. _'Maybe Yukari is just really lazy, so she won't adopt a new way of teaching.'_ ZaXo figured.

"Hey you," Yukari said loudly, looking at ZaXo.

"Yes?"

"Follow me. We need to make sure that everyone is doing alright," Yukari answered, dragging him along by his arm. They went to the various pairs of students around the room. Tomo and Yomi were one such group; a group that was currently arguing about something. "Hey, are you two even working?" Yukari shot at them.

"We would be if Tomo would just shut up, and stop talking about ZaXo," Yomi answered back.

"I am not just talking about him. I'm simply practicing my English with various sentences that involve him. There's nothing wrong with that!" Tomo retorted.

"It's annoying, and you aren't using the terms that we're supposed to be learning!"

"Ehh, whatever," Yukari decided, walking off.

"Shouldn't we-" ZaXo started, but Yukari interrupted like she had earlier.

"Shouldn't we what? Stop them arguing? Nah, it's impossible, and besides, I couldn't really care less."

With a puzzled look on his face, ZaXo simply followed his instructor. They once again continued walking along to each pair of students. Osaka and Chiyo were the next group they stopped at, Chiyo looking a little distressed. "What's wrong with you?" Yukari said indifferently.

"Oh, Ms. Yukari. Osaka is just having a bit of trouble," Chiyo answered squeakily.

"Yeah, I can't understand why the word _'awful'_ is somethin' really bad, but _'awesome'_ is really good. Shouldn't it be _'awnone'_ instead of _'awesome'_ since that would be the opposite of _'awful'_? I mean awful is FULL of _'awe'_ right? And awesome is in the middle, with just some _'awe'_. So shouldn't awnone be the opposite, seeing as it has no _'awe'_ at all? But what if the _'awe'_ is like a positive one, like _'awe, such a cute puppy'_? With that bein' the case, they got it all backwards," Osaka told them, groaning a bit in confusion. Everyone just stared at her, Chiyo looking almost worried.

"Well, Osaka, I don't think those words were intended to be opposites in the first place. But I do see how it doesn't make sense. Just a coincidence I guess," ZaXo told her.

"Oh..." Osaka thought for a few seconds. "So... that means that I just created the word awnone, and fixed the whole language?"

"Well, that's not exactly what I meant but..." ZaXo muttered. He couldn't decide whether Osaka just thought way outside of the box, or was slow.

"What in the world did you make it into college for Osaka? How is it even possible that you made it here?" Yukari asked without a hint of care for whether Osaka thought her statement was rude or not. Osaka didn't seem to notice, answering as if this was normal of Ms. Yukari.

"Me? I got inta the rocket science degree program. They said I'd done the best on the test outa everyone," Osaka replied. Yukari's mouth shrunk, and her eyes went blank. She immediately lumbered off to the next group without saying anything else. ZaXo followed suit, becoming more puzzled by the second.

Yukari and ZaXo continued going group to group, but the whole time Yukari would just walk up, stand there a few seconds, and walk off. _'Did Osaka's degree choice surprise her that much?'_ ZaXo wondered.

Yukari finally broke out of her stupor as they arrived at the final group. It consisted of Sakaki and another girl that ZaXo didn't know. She had hair that was dark brown, and it was cut extremely straight, at about the bottom of her jaw. She was just silently staring at Sakaki longingly. "Oh, Sakaki and Kaorin. Just like that first time I split you guys into groups when you were in my class. So I'm guessing you two don't really need help?" Yukari said, finally breaking out of the robotic state that Osaka had put her in.

"No, not at all Ms. Yukari. Miss Sakaki is simply amazing at English, and she's really good at explaining it," Kaorin replied, still staring dreamily at Sakaki. ZaXo wondered why she wasn't with the others this morning if she liked hanging around Sakaki so much. He figured they should have been best friends, but something was a bit off about how much she liked Sakaki.

"Oh, so you know English pretty well then, Miss Sakaki?" ZaXo asked in his native tongue.

"Please, just Sakaki, and yes I'm alright. I can speak using basic phrases and sentences. I'm not as good as Chiyo-Chan however," Sakaki told him, in perfect English. She spoke very clearly, pronouncing everything correctly, though a strong accent fronted her speech.

"I don't know. You seem pretty skilled in English. You shouldn't sell yourself short," ZaXo told her, once again in his native language. Sakaki just blushed, which he took to mean she had understood what he said.

"Well, I'll just leave you to it," Yukari stated in Japanese, and walked back up to the front. ZaXo followed as instructed, and the two of them sat in silence for the next ten minutes. Finally, the bell rang, signifying the end of first period, and everyone got up to leave. ZaXo grabbed his things and met up with his new friends, who were now all talking to that Kaorin girl from earlier.

"I can't believe that you randomly decided to come here too," Kagura was saying as ZaXo walked up.

"Well, I knew that Saka-" Kaorin started, but she suddenly blushed, and quickly changed angles. "I mean, I knew that the fashion design course here was supposed to be really promising, so I applied."

The group all walked out into the hall, while they continued to talk to Kaorin. The eight of them spoke for a minute before they decided to get to their separate classes. "Well Kaorin, at least you don't have to deal with Kimura anymore," Tomo chimed in at the last minute.

After finding out how crazy Yukari was, ZaXo was kind of scared to even ask about Kimura. But he didn't have to, as suddenly, a man with short black hair, sunken cheeks, and round glasses popped up out of nowhere.

"Did someone say my name? Was it you Kaorin, my dear?" the man shouted, wheezing creepily with every breath. Kaorin screamed, here eyes growing in pure disbelief.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here Mr. Kimura?" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I came here to be with you silly," Kimura slyly whispered, and the girls all stared at him in disgust. ZaXo just stood there, wondering what was going on.

"What's your job here anyway?" Yomi shot at Kimura.

"Oh, I am the new teacher for the Fashion Design classes," he smirked, looking slightly deranged.

"No... that c-can't be true. M-ms. Kurosawa would n-never hire you..." Kaorin stuttered, going completely pale. "I don't feel so good..." she said quietly, and ran from the group toward the nurses office.

"Wait Kaorin! Wait for me!" Kimura yelled, lumbering after her.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! IT'S KAORI TO YOU!" she screamed at him, still running as fast as her legs would carry her.

"Umm, I think we should go see if she's alright," ZaXo offered, looking more confused than ever. The group agreed, and they took the stairs down to the first floor, heading toward the Infirmary area. As they turned the corner and saw the door to the Nurses office, Kaorin came bursting out, falling over backward in the process.

"No, it can't _be_!" she shouted, her eyes wide. Kaorin continued to back up until her back hit the wall across the hallway, still on her hands and rear end.

"What is it Kaorin?" Sakaki asked urgently, yet her voice was still soft and quiet as per usual.

"It's _him_! His wife is the nurse, and he's in there with her! Get me out of here!" Kaorin screamed, and ran toward the group. Yomi stopped her, and Kaorin looked her in the eyes, as if she was being betrayed.

Sakaki spoke up before Yomi lost her grip on Kaorin. "Listen, you need to calm down. You're eighteen now, so I'm sure he will lose interest. Remember, he likes high school girls, right? Don't worry," she explained, trying to comfort her frightened friend.

"But I-"

"But nothing. If you want to do fashion design, then don't let him stop you. Just ignore him, and you'll be out of here with a new degree before you know it."

Kaorin thought this over for a while, and decided that Sakaki was right. "O-okay, I will. I'll try to ignore him. Well, I g-guess we should get to class," Kaorin finally whimpered. "Thank you so much for your advice Miss Sakaki," she added, blushing profusely.

"You're welcome," Sakaki smiled, and they all went their separate ways. As ZaXo walked by the nurse's office he saw Kimura in there with a nice looking lady, simply talking to each other. His puzzlement grew to new heights every minute the day passed on. _'He has a pretty wife like that, and he's chasing younger girls?'_ ZaXo asked himself as the two of them slowly left his view. Shaking the thoughts off, ZaXo got himself ready for the rest of his classes.

ZaXo thoroughly enjoyed his next few classes, musical theory and manga artistry being the best. The music teacher though he had a natural talent for music, but ZaXo wasn't so sure. Before his fourth class, he was called to the main office, where Nyamo gave him a new schedule. "I figured you might need help from your friends, because the other required classes are all in Japanese," she winked, giving him the paper. Through the rest of his classes, including all the required ones like math and science, he had a good time. And sure enough, in nearly every class were his new friends. The only ones they weren't in were his actual degree centered classes. Kaorin had already went through her fashion class with Kimura, and said it was okay because the class was too full for him to spend a lot of time with her.

The day overall went very well, though ZaXo still it was extremely weird. The whole group had decided to walk home together, but as they were about to leave, Kaorin stopped them. "Hey, we should stop by the school shop," Kaorin offered. "The Fashion Design classes will make a lot the clothes for the shop, so I want to see how big of an area the clothing is sold in."

The group agreed and followed her there. Inside however, Kaorin once again met her worst nightmare... Kimura. He was the unfortunately manager of the store, and walked up to them as they stepped inside. Kaorin stood her ground, but went pale once again. "Can I help you?" he said monotonously.

"Umm, yeah, where is the clothing section?" ZaXo asked.

"Ahh, my favorite, though there isn't much there right now," Kimura wheezed, letting out a sinister and disturbing laugh. They reluctantly followed him halfway through the store, to where the clothes were. Kaorin was in the very back of the group, keeping up, but her face was completely expressionless. "So, right now we only have the HKU hoodies and shirts, but within the next few weeks, the Fashion Design classes will have made a few more items."

"Thanks," ZaXo said, trying to get him to leave, so that Kaorin could be free to look at the area. But Kimura didn't go anywhere.

"Oh, but I'm not done. I have a surprise for you. Follow me over here," Kimura announced, looking absolutely elated to show them what he was talking about. They walked a few feet over, to where there was a computer system on the wall behind the clothing racks, along with a camera mounted above it. On the opposite side, near the racks themselves, was a white sheet spread across square frame. "This is the most amazing invention mankind has ever come up with. It takes a picture of you, and allows us to put anything from our clothing inventory on your body. Would you like to try it Kaorin?" he half asked, half pleaded, breathing heavier than ever before.

"_No!_" she shouted, hiding behind Sakaki, as was Chiyo.

"I will," ZaXo offered, trying anything to get Kimura off of her back.

"Anyone? Does anyone want to do it?" Kimura said, blatantly ignoring ZaXo. He tried again, but was still ignored by the creepy bespectacled man.

"I'll do it," Sakaki finally spoke up.

"Oooh, yes. You'll do well," Kimura replied hauntingly. "Step up to the X on the ground in front of the white sheet, and take off your clothing," he smiled.

"What?" Sakaki jumped, her face going red.

"Mr. Kimura, it says you need only take off any baggy clothing; like jackets," Yomi shot at him, standing by the computer screen.

"Oh, alright, if you don't want the best results," Kimura groaned, clearly shot down. Sakaki stood on the X and he took the picture. Then they all went to the screen. "Here, you should put this on," Kimura told her, and dragged a school shirt over to her picture. The white background behind her had allowed her to be the only thing in the picture, so the shirt fit onto her body. "Ooh, it looks great skin-tight like that. Do you wanna buy one... or ten?" he asked her slyly.

"No, I'd rather have it a little, um, looser fitting," Sakaki told him, trying hard not to run away from everyone in disgust and embarrassment. Kimura looked disappointed, but did as she asked. She told him it looked good, and asked for one, so they could get out as fast as possible. Sakaki paid and they left, practically running out the door.

"Come back again won't you?" Kimura yelled to them, as they left.

"I don't know about that..." ZaXo mumbled

Right as they turned the corner around the shop, the group almost ran into Nyamo. Half of them were busy looking to see if Kimura had followed. They didn't see him, and sighs of relief escaped them all. "What's got you all in such a hurry?" Nyamo inquired.

"What gave you the idea of hiring Kimura?" Tomo spat, not holding back at all. Nyamo went red, and put her hands behind her head before she answered.

"Actually, he got the job before I was hired. But I know what you're thinking, and I can't fire him. He clearly knows the job well, and his wife would be crushed. Sorry," Nyamo told them. They all looked disappointed, but it was nothing compared to Kaorin. Her face told the story of a girl who would likely never be cheery again.

"Well, we'd better get going," Chiyo said and everyone waved to Nyamo, before starting to walk home. The whole way, Tomo whined about how difficult her law classes were, to which Yomi could only say that she told her so. Overall, ZaXo thought it was a nice first day, and he was happy to have the new friends he did. They were all _very_ odd, but his life had never seemed more crazy and exciting. He couldn't wait for the rest of his time here.

* * *

**Just so you all know, I don't take credit for the jobs and stuff that Kimura has, along with his wife. The picture machine, his managerial job, his wife's job, and his teaching job were all ideas given to me by Stephen K (from Yahoo Answers). So all thanks for that goes to Stephen K. Review please, and tell me what you think of it so far, and whether I am doing a good job of making the characters canon and funny. Hope you liked :)**


	4. The One They Call Crazy

**Chapter three is finally here. All things Azumanga belong to their respective owners. And since Stephen K from Yahoo helped me with Kimura's job, I had him design a character in return. So Seijin Fukurou is his character in the fanfic. All things Azumanga belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 3: The One They Call Crazy**

The sun outside had just risen, and now was shining through the window into ZaXo's room. The gentle light glowed in a deep, warm orange, flowing through the air and taking rest on his bed sheets. ZaXo slept soundly, dreaming of his old home in America, if only for just another moment. A sudden ringing sound shot from the alarm clock on the bedside table, breaking the silence. The shock from the abrupt noise sent ZaXo falling to the floor. Already alert, yet still not completely coherent, he opened his eyes and looked around frantically for the source of the noise. Finally noticing that it was his alarm, he scrambled to the other side of his bed to shut off the infernal racket.

A deep sigh escaped the boy's mouth, glad to once again be surrounded by silence. This seemed to happen to ZaXo a lot. If he had his alarm any quieter it wouldn't wake him, but it almost always gave him a heart attack when it was up this loud. His pulse slowly went back to normal as he looked around the room. The dream he was having was so realistic that until just a second ago, he thought he was still in America. A smile grew across ZaXo's mouth as he realized that he was actually in Japan. He almost wasn't able to come to this amazing country, full of culture and originality. This place was such a fine mix of modern and ancient lifestyles that it was practically perfect in his opinion. So actually being here was an amazing thought to wake up to. Plus, he had already made some great acquaintances that he was excited to get to know.

ZaXo yawned as he got up and stretched, and then he started to get ready for school. While brushing his teeth, he remembered that he was to meet his new friends at the park. They had all planned on walking to school together, and he needed to be there in ten minutes. So ZaXo sped up his morning 'to do list', and within five minutes was practically sprinting out the door. For a split second, fright overcame him, fearing that he'd forgotten how to get there. But this was dispelled quickly as the directions came rushing back to him.

Three minutes later, ZaXo was at the corner before the meeting point. He could hear Kaorin speaking in her usual, very high pitched voice, though he couldn't quite understand her yet. ZaXo figured that she must have started getting over Kimura's new involvement in her life, as she sounded very peppy. His thoughts were confirmed when he rounded the corner, just in time to see her smiling and staring intently at Sakaki. "Hey all. How is everything?" ZaXo asked the group as he walked up. A few of them turned to look at him, including Kagura and… a very small girl with auburn pigtails.

For the first time it struck ZaXo how small Chiyo-Chan was. She didn't look near old enough to be in college. Heck, she looked just barely old enough to be in high school. "H-hey Chiyo, can I ask you something?" ZaXo inquired timidly, hoping that she was as young as she seemed, or his next question could be taken as an insult.

"Of course," she beamed at him.

"Well… I was just wondering…" ZaXo paused, nerves almost getting the better of him. He really didn't want to make any of his new friends mad, but he couldn't back out now. "I was wondering, how old you are?"

"Oh, is that it? You looked really anxious for a second," the little girl responded politely. "I'm just fourteen, but I skipped from elementary school straight to high school."

"What? You skipped that much schooling? Man you must be some kind of super genius!" ZaXo said in awe.

"Not really," Chiyo blushed. "But everyone seems to think so…"

"Geez, how long is it gonna take Tomo and Yomi to get here?" Kagura interrupted in annoyance. ZaXo hadn't even noticed that they weren't here yet. As he began to wonder why, Tomo came racing around the corner, looking both shocked and frightened.

"Hide me!" the frantic girl yelled, eyes darting around in search of a place to conceal herself. She then dived behind a tree, her back to the trunk. She breathed deeply while everyone just stared at her.

Finally Osaka spoke up for the group, asking what they all wanted to know. "What're ya hidin' from?"

"Not what; who! Yomi's gone crazy!" Tomo whispered. She stepped out from her hiding spot, and turned to look around the trunk of the tree. Immediately she got hit on the head by a brown haired girl with a big pair of glasses over her eyes. Yomi seemed to have come from nowhere, shocking them all.

"That's what you get!" the angry girl growled in triumph and she brushed herself off before walking over to her other friends. Tomo simply lay on the ground, stars in her eyes.

"What did she do this time?" Kagura wondered aloud.

"Why don't you ask her…" Yomi snarled, anger glowing on her face. Tomo slowly got up and walked over to the group, her face still twisted in pain as she massaged her head.

"It… ugh, it wasn't that bad, and definitely wasn't worth a punch that hard," Tomo groaned. She stopped for a few seconds to feel for a bump on her head before telling everyone what had happened to get Yomi so flustered. "You see, I was bored yesterday, so I decided to go to go to the mall. While I was browsing in my favorite clothing store, some guy jumped out from behind the shelf and started talking to me," Tomo began. "He said his name was Haru Itagaki, and claimed he was looking for good ideas for his fashion design class. But suddenly his angle changed completely. The guy asked me if I wanted to go on a date sometime!" she yelled. Chiyo and Kaorin gasped, but everyone else stood their ground in silence. The look on Tomo's face said that she was searching for sympathy, but nobody really knew why.

"So what does that have to do with Yomi?" Kagura shot, not willing to let Tomo's story get to her.

"Well… you see, I thought he was kinda ugly, and his hyper attitude was _really_ annoying. So... I told him that Yomi would like to go on the date with him instead…" she muttered, looking at her shoes. Now everyone in the group gasped, but Yomi interrupted them before anyone could react further.

"Wait, that's not even the half of it. Tell them what else you did Takino," Yomi shot angrily at the embarrassed looking girl next to her.

"Umm, do I have to?" Tomo pleaded, to which Yomi raised a fist, making the answer as clear as a cloudless sky. "I… I told him where Yomi lives, and set up a time and day for their date. But that's not so bad… right?" Tomo finished. The group was filled with mixed reactions. Chiyo, Kaorin, and Sakaki each gave Tomo disappointed looks. Osaka looked happy for Yomi, and Kagura began to laugh, to which the bespectacled one shot a menacing look. ZaXo realized that this was probably a really mean thing for Tomo to do if she knew the guy wasn't Yomi's type. Still, he didn't know Haru, so he couldn't really react to this 'betrayal'.

"So when do you have to go on a date with him?" ZaXo asked the furious brunette.

"On Sunday at six, but like hell I'm gonna show up!" she stated sternly in response.

"Hey, I thought he would be your type you know! I knew that if he was the opposite of what I like, then you'd probably like him. And anyway, it'd be rude for you to just ditch him," Tomo explained.

"Oh yeah? You thought a guy that's annoying… just like you, would be perfect for me? I can hardly stand how hyper and crazy you can be Tomo. What in your brain tells you for a second that he would be my type?" Yomi questioned Tomo severely.

"Well, she is kind of right though Miss Yomi. It would be extremely rude of you to not show up," Chiyo half whispered, knowing that her friend might not react well to hearing this.

"Don't worry. We'll figure out how to make this date a little more bearable Yomi," ZaXo assured her, and the others nodded. Yomi stared at them for a few seconds, fire in her eyes, but it began to ebb away as she sighed, giving a reluctant nod. The group started to walk to school, Tomo staying far from Yomi at the back.

"Hey Kaorin," Sakaki started nicely.

"Y-yes Miss Sakaki?" Kaorin stuttered, looking excitedly at her tall friend.

"Tomo said Haru was in fashion design. Is he in _your_ fashion design class?"

"Oh, I'm not sure. I could check today though. And then if he is, I'll do some recon for you," Kaorin answered determinedly.

"That would be great…" Yomi told her monotonously, and from then on they talked about other things while walking the rest of the way to school.

When they arrived in Yukari's class a while later, most of them took the same, seemingly random seats that they had the day before. However, this time ZaXo knew not to sit with them since he was now the unofficial 'teacher's aid'. Instead he waited for Yukari to arrive. She walked through the door ten minutes early, to which most of the people who had her for high school raised their eyebrows in confusion. Yukari didn't seem particularly happy to be in class already though. As she passed by ZaXo and threw her bag at her desk, he could hear her muttering something under her breath. "Stupid Nyamo making me come in this damn early. I'd better get paid overtime for this."

Yukari then started setting up her desk with the things she needed… kind of. She threw textbooks and things carelessly onto the wooden surface without really looking at them. ZaXo stood in amazement. He had never had a teacher that was so unorthodox in her methods, or as laid back as this… but he kind of liked it. Though he wasn't actually _in_ her English class per-se, he felt that if he was, then he could probably get a lot more from her than the mindless drones that he usually had for teachers. Yukari then ran from the room with a couple hundred Yen in her hands, this time groaning about the fact that she had to go to the main floor to buy a coffee. '_Then again… maybe she's a little too laid back._' ZaXo thought to himself, stifling a laugh.

Seven minutes later, Yukari came back to the room right as class was supposed to start. She looked slightly less annoyed now, a steaming cup of black coffee in her hand. She took a sip, and then turned to ZaXo. "Hey, whoever you are; get over here," she said loudly.

"It's ZaXo Ken'Ichi ma'am, and what do you need me to do today?" ZaXo responded as nicely as possible, bowing to his elder.

"Yeah, Zacko Ken-whatever, come get this marker and start writing what I tell you to on the board," she stated nonchalantly. ZaXo nodded and grabbed the red dry erase marker, then walked up to face the board. Yukari began by having him write down the different phrases and words they were to learn in class. Five minutes in, a firm voice came from the seating area of the classroom.

"Excuse me, but that's not correct," the male voice said. ZaXo turned to see a boy in the front row looking at him. He had short black hair that almost looked blue in the class lighting. He wore square glasses that were rounded at the corners. His eyes seemed to radiate a massive intelligence, and he looked wise beyond his years. The boy spoke up again. "You have made a few mistakes up there on the board."

"Well, then would you like to come up and correct them?" ZaXo asked sincerely. The boy nodded and got up. He was very tall, and wore nice, semi-formal attire. As he approached the boy spoke up once more.

"I already know you as ZaXo Ken'Ichi. My name is Seijin Fukurou," Seijin told him, before holding his hand out for the marker. ZaXo gave it to him, and turned to face his work. "To start, you wrote these Kanji slightly off the mark. They should look more like… this," One by one Seijin corrected the mistakes ZaXo made. He was happy to see that they weren't that big.

"Thanks for the help Seijin," ZaXo smiled, but the boy didn't back down yet.

"Actually… you made a mistake here too," he explained slowly, pointing to an English word. ZaXo had foolishly spelled the word 'guarantee' without the _u_ in the beginning. Seijin quickly corrected this, and then handed the marker back. ZaXo could feel his face getting warm with embarrassment. Not only had he spelled a word horribly wrong in his own native language, but he was corrected by someone who was in a class to _learn_ English.

"Well, you seem to know this better than I do, so why don't you stay up here instead?" ZaXo told Seijin, trying to keep cool and show no annoyance in his voice.

"That's a great idea!" Yukari added. "C'mon super genius, get to writing," she advised him, and ZaXo handed the marker to Seijin once more. For the rest of class ZaXo sat in Seijin's seat, slightly embarrassed by the mistake he saw as catastrophic. Seijin meanwhile wrote whatever Yukari told him to, and even went about explaining it to the class. His speech craft was simply perfect, as was his writing, both in Roman letters and in Japanese.

When the bell finally rang, ZaXo was anxious to leave before any one of his friends might have the chance to ridicule him. He didn't really think any of them would actually do so, except for maybe Tomo. But in case he was wrong, ZaXo didn't really want to take the chance. As he stepped out of the doorway, someone called his name from back inside the classroom. It was Seijin. '_Great, is he gonna lecture me some more?_' ZaXo groaned. However, when the boy in question caught up, he had a polite smile on his face.

"I'm really very sorry if I embarrassed you ZaXo. That wasn't at all my intention. I hope I didn't make you angry," Seijin stated respectfully, as if reading ZaXo's mind. ZaXo felt heavy guilt replace his annoyance towards Seijin. He had indeed been a little angry just a second ago. But now that he thought about it, there was nothing to be angry about. So what if he'd been embarrassed? So had everyone else at least once before in their lives. Besides, he had already kind of known Seijin probably didn't mean to do it on purpose.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I made the mistakes, and you simply corrected me. It's all good," ZaXo assured Seijin, who gave a genuine smile of relief. "So what are you going to school here for?" he continued curiously.

"Oh, I'm here for a few things. I'm starting with degrees in Physics, Psychology, and Biology for good measure. Then I'll decide which one I really want to go further in."

ZaXo just stood in a daze for a few seconds before responding. "Y-you're doing all three? As in, at the same time? How do you do that _and_ your required classes?"

"I tested out of all of my required classes other than English, which I feel I need to brush up on," Seijin admitted. ZaXo simply stared with his mouth agape. '_He thinks he needs to get better at English? He's practically perfect at writing it, so he should be great at speaking._'

"How are you paying for all of that?" ZaXo then asked, guessing he already knew the answer.

"I got a full ride scholarship. They told me that I could take whatever I wanted completely free, as long as I passed everything with good scores. It'll help get the school some recognition."

They both stood in silence for a few seconds, as ZaXo continued to stare. He had expected this answer, but that didn't mean he was ready for it. Just then, Kagura and Tomo walked up beside them. "Hey ZaXo, what's up? Need help with your English?" Tomo started, but was hit in the back of the head by her athletic friend. "Ow, what was that for? He knows I'm only joking. After all, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I actually meant mean things like that?" Tomo said, her voice going from angry to flirty halfway through the statement. Seijin looked at Tomo and then back to ZaXo.

"Hmm, that's an odd pairing, but to each his own," Seijin simply told them both.

"Umm, we're not going out Seijin. I just met her, and I don't date girls I don't really know," ZaXo explained to him, though he was looking at Tomo as he did so, hoping she would finally understand. His statement didn't seem to have any effect on her however, as Tomo wrapped herself around his right arm once again. The rest of the gang finally arrived, and they started talking to Seijin for a while.

"Hey Tomo, Tomo, hey Tomo," a slightly high male voice called from behind them after about five minutes, though the girl he was addressing clearly wasn't listening. Finally he tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around, along with everyone else. In front of them was a boy of about their age, though he was not all that tall. He stood at about five feet, with brown, crazily spiked hair, almost as if he had just gelled it into random spots. Actually, ZaXo had to suppress a laugh, as he looked remarkably like he had his hair done for a cosplay convention. His clothing was very strange and didn't seem to match at all either.

"Oh, Haru, what's up?" Tomo chimed, smiling wide. Yomi jumped at the name, and hid behind Sakaki, who was now standing in the back of the group.

"I was wondering if my sweet Yomi was around?" Haru responded, looking around frantically. The group now noticed a flower in his hand. It was half wilted, but a nice gesture nonetheless.

"Yup, she's back the-_ow_!" Tomo began, but was stopped by a foot to the calf. Yomi had kicked her from in between everyone, but quickly hid again. "What the hell? Why am I the one who's getting hit by everyone today?" Tomo shouted, before saying her final statement very quickly. "Yomisbackthere." she hastily spat, pointing to the back of the group, before bending down to nurse her leg.

Yomi slowly got out from behind Sakaki, shot Tomo a very dirty look, and then turned to the very desperate looking Haru. "H-hello Haru," she stammered, turning pale.

"Hey baby, are you ready for our night out?" he responded excitedly, handing her the flower. Yomi went from pale to ghost white, and looked as if she was about to faint. Someone had to do something to make this easier on her, so ZaXo spoke up with the first thing that came to mind.

"Yeah, she is," he started, and Yomi shot him a much dirtier look than she had Tomo. But he continued regardless. "And I hope you don't mind, but we decided to make it a… double date." ZaXo winced at this statement, knowing full well what he was doing, and also knowing he might very well regret it. '_So much for not dating girls I don't know…_' ZaXo thought as he slowly wrapped his arm around Tomo, and she squealed with joy. While Yomi looked a little more comfortable than before, something was still clearly wrong with her whole idea of the situation.

"Well, actually we've decided to make it a triple date," Sakaki suddenly spoke up, noticing Yomi's distress. Everyone looked at her, and she blushed, though she didn't budge. "I want to know, will you go with me Seijin?"

Seijin stood in slight alarm, but quickly gained his composure back. "It would be my pleasure, Miss Sakaki," he said elegantly, bowing in respect. Yomi finally seemed to calm down about the date, to everyone's relief.

"Yeah, I'm ready…" she told Haru, finally answering his question herself.

"Awesome! So we'll all meet at Yomi's on Sunday at six P.M. See you then baby!" Haru cheered, pumping his fist in the air before walking off with a very animated expression on his face.

"Well, is that damage control enough for you Yomi?" ZaXo asked, sighing with relief now that Haru was gone. She nodded, and walked toward her next class in silence, still holding the flower. ZaXo wasn't looking forward to this any more than she was. He knew Tomo was excited of course, but what about Sakaki and Seijin? While he thought on this, Tomo wrote Yomi's address down for the two boys.

"Hey Seijin, I don't know where this is, as I'm kinda new here. Can you meet me at my house, and then we can walk to Yomi's?" ZaXo asked. Seijin nodded, and ZaXo gave his address as well. "Well, I guess that's it. We should probably all get to class," he stated, and everyone agreed.

"Darn it, why can't we get us a boy fer this date they're havin'?" Osaka groaned, sounding bummed as she walked with Kagura, Kaorin, and Chiyo.

"Well, I'm too young to go on a date with anyone here," Chiyo admitted, and in fact, she seemed a little put off by this fact.

"Ehh, we'll find ourselves guys ten times better than they do, and go on our own group date! We'll even find a younger guy for you Chiyo!" Kagura assured them, the others agreeing energetically. The rest of the day, the four talked and talked about how great their date was going to be. Meanwhile, ZaXo and Yomi wished they could disappear, Tomo guaranteeing that their date would be better than the others could ever imagine. Only Sakaki and Seijin -who walked home from school with them that day- didn't seem to show any emotions toward the event. It was if they didn't really care either way.

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**So that's this chapter. I'd greatly appreciate any reviews, if you could spare the time please. Hope you liked :)**


	5. A Night On The Town

**Well, here's the fourth chapter in the story. I like the way it went and I think you will to. All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their respective owners. Happy reading :)**

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**Chapter 4: A Night On The Town**

"Hmm, I'm not really looking forward to tonight…" ZaXo sighed to himself as he got home from picking up a new shirt. Though he didn't really want to impress Tomo tonight, it would be rude toward everyone to dress messy. Glancing at the clock as he strode into his room, ZaXo saw that it was four thirty-two P.M.; an hour and a half before the date. His mind had been racing all day, but he was sure his wasn't the only one. Each of them had to feel a little anxious… well other than maybe Sakaki and Seijin. ZaXo didn't know what to think about them. They hadn't once brought up the date to anyone all week, including each other.

Regardless of everything, this whole date was for Yomi, to make it easier on her as she had to deal with Haru. At least she wouldn't have to do it alone. Plus, Kaorin did indeed have him in her Fashion Design class, so when she wasn't being hassled by Kimura, she made sure to collect as much information about his personality as she could. She unfortunately confirmed that -just as expected- Haru was everything they thought he was. He was loud, hyper, and had a bit of an attitude. He was also heavily into anything that would be considered 'nerdy'; video games, Star Wars, cosplay, anime, etc.

To ZaXo's knowledge, nobody thought that this made him a geek or a loser or anything. Heck, he liked many of those types of things too. It was more about the extent Haru went to with them that made him strange. It was almost like they had become more than even just an obsession.

"But hey, that's just the way Kaorin had described him. Maybe it isn't completely true, and she was exaggerating a bit," ZaXo mumbled to himself as he stepped out to the front of his home. He'd only met Haru once, so who was he to judge?

ZaXo stepped out past the gate to his home, and rested his shoulder on the wall. It was now five forty-five. All that was left to do was to wait for Seijin. Over the week ZaXo had gotten to know Seijin quite well. He was _very_ smart, rarely ever unsure about the answer to questions people had. Because of this however, many thought that Seijin was just being a know-it-all. But when you really got to know him, you came to find that he was actually just trying to help, and was actually very kind. It took some time to get used to being corrected, but having someone around that was so smart had many upsides.

ZaXo had also gotten to know his other friends fairly well. Yomi was kind of hot headed, and Tomo usually tended to set off her anger very quickly because she was loud and -in Yomi's eyes-, obnoxious. But when Tomo wasn't being a nuisance, Yomi was very intelligent and calm. ZaXo wouldn't personally go so far as to call Tomo obnoxious, but she was indeed way over the top most of the time, especially when she got on the subject of ZaXo himself. Kagura had a will of steel, and was heavily into sports, which explained her tan. She wasn't the smartest one in the group, but she was by no means dumb either. Kaorin was really squeaky and peppy whenever Kimura wasn't around. She seemed to have a lot of respect for Sakaki, and tried to show it whenever she could. ZaXo had actually just learned Friday that Kaorin was a nickname reserved for close friends. But she was nice enough to allow him to call her that, since he had already gotten to know her by that name.

Osaka was… well, she was just Osaka. Most of the time, she was about as bright as an unlit room, and her thought processing style was _extremely_ odd. However, there were rare moments where she had strange ideas that turned out to be amazingly brilliant. Chiyo-Chan was by far the second smartest of the group, next to Seijin. She was so intelligent but small, that it was difficult to not see her as absolutely adorable. Though she seemed to get annoyed when most of them brought up how adorable she was, she didn't seem to mind when Seijin did. But for everyone else, she just brought up how much better it was to be cool like Sakaki.

Sakaki… ZaXo didn't know much about her. When she did speak up, she usually said something that fit in well with the current conversation. However, she was silent the majority of the time. ZaXo really did want to know more about her, because in his experience, the quiet people were usually the most interesting.

"ZaXo! I didn't expect you to wait out here for me," Seijin suddenly yelled from halfway down the street. ZaXo walked up to him and smiled.

"Well, I figured it was the least I could do since you decided to essentially 'pick me up'," ZaXo responded as he followed Seijin, who was now crossing the street. His friend was practically wearing a formal tuxedo, though ZaXo had to admit, it fit Seijin's personality nicely, and didn't really seem strange for him.

"Well, don't get use to it. I only showed up to your house because I'm trying to help Yomi, and you're needed for that," Seijin announced standoffishly. They both chuckled, and continued to walk to their destination. "So are you looking forward to this?" he then asked in a sarcastic tone, smiling slyly at ZaXo.

"Umm, not really. I mean, I like Tomo as a friend, but she's a little too much for me to handle otherwise. I think she would do much better with Haru," ZaXo joked, and their chuckles became all out laughs. When they caught their breath, he spoke up again. "So are _you_ excited then?" ZaXo smiled, hoping to finally get something out of his friend about Sakaki's seemingly random invitation to the date.

"Uhh, well I… I guess I am. I mean, it caught me by surprise when Miss Sakaki asked me. But she is beautiful, and… um, interesting," Seijin answered.

"What do you mean by, 'um, interesting'?" ZaXo started, and then realized the answer. "She hasn't really talked to you at all has she?" he asked, to which Seijin shook his head in silence. "Well, that's okay, because she doesn't really talk to anyone much besides Chiyo-Chan," ZaXo finished.

The two walked in near silence for the next three minutes until they arrived at the address on the papers they had been given. Everyone was already waiting outside Yomi's house for them to arrive. Haru was already clinging to Yomi, who looked very distressed about her situation. He was once again wearing clothes that didn't really match, though they were all semi-formal in style this time. Yomi on the other hand looked amazing. Her hair was put back into a ponytail, and she must have switched out her glasses for contacts, as she wasn't wearing them. She had on a really nice bronze colored dress that went down to her ankles, and matching heels. In America it might have been considered overkill for a first date, especially one that she didn't want to be on. It looked more like something a girl would wear to prom. But Haru clearly didn't really care. She looked nice, and that's all that mattered.

ZaXo looked at the other two girls as they got closer, and noticed that even Tomo looked good. She was wearing a shorter, much looser dress than Yomi, that only came down to her knees. It was shiny and in a deep navy color. Her hair was the same, though she had put a flower in it on the right side, just above her ear. A feeling of slight relief suddenly hit ZaXo. Maybe when she was out with people after school, Tomo was more calm and quiet. He found it hard to believe someone who didn't have at least a little calm side would choose to dress so modestly. Usually hyperactive people were much more edgy and random dressers... like Haru.

Last was Sakaki. She had on a white shirt that came around her neck like a t-shirt, and had sleeves like a t-shirt, but was out of a more light and silky material. However, it had a split in the middle of the neck, coming down three or so inches, forming a small oval-shaped loop. Holding the very top of it closed was a small white ribbon. Over this she wore a baby blue wrap. It looked very fuzzy and soft like a winter scarf, but out of a much lighter, fluffier material. She then had a skirt on that was also baby blue and came down to her knees. Her shirt was tucked neatly at the bottom. Her shoes were white, women's semi-dress shoes.

A small fluttering feeling bubbled up in ZaXo's stomach as he looked at each of the beautiful girls in front of him. They all looked amazing. When he and Seijin finally stopped in front of the others, they all stood in silence for a second, until ZaXo spoke up. "So, how is everyone? You all look great," he chimed.

"Yeah, especially me, right?" Tomo asked, trying to sound seductive, and placing one hand on her hip, the other waving him toward her.

"Actually, you look very nice Tomo. I wouldn't have expected you to choose that style of clothing," ZaXo admitted, trying to ignore her tone.

"Well, she got the dress from me. She doesn't even have a single dress of her own, so I let her use it," Yomi interrupted, sounding slightly annoyed, though it was more than likely because Haru was trying to caress her hair.

"Shall we go?" Seijin offered, to which they all agreed. He and ZaXo each held out an elbow for their respective dates, and when they had locked arms with the girls, the group started to walk to the restaurant. Yomi had to practically drag Haru, who was more hanging on to her around the waist then actually walking.

As they went, ZaXo noticed how nice the weather was for the first time. The sun would still be up for another hour and a half, and there were few clouds in the sky. The wind was very light, giving the air a nice cool feel. He wondered what the restaurant they were going to would be like. He was told by Tomo during the week that it was nothing too amazing, but that it wasn't bad either. The menu was fairly cheap, and it wasn't usually busy. She also made it a point to say that it had karaoke, and she wanted to sing with him… and wanted to keep Yomi from singing at all. When ZaXo brought this up to Yomi, she just brushed it off, explaining that she used to be bad, but had practiced a lot since. She told him that the last time they had been to this restaurant was a couple winters ago.

Finally, they arrived. The establishment was called, 'The Art of Noodles'. Seijin opened the front door for everyone, and they filed in. From outside, it looked really small, but inside there was a lot more space than expected. It was fairly nice and as Tomo had foretold, there weren't too many people. When everyone got inside, they found a table and sat down. On one side of the table was Tomo, ZaXo in the middle, and Sakaki. On the other side was Haru, Yomi in the middle, and Seijin across from Sakaki.

They all opened their menus and began to look at the choices. Most everything was noodle based, which came to no surprise considering the name of the restaurant. However, ZaXo didn't know too much about different noodles. He figured this would be the perfect way to get Sakaki to talk, and open conversation to the table. "Uh, hey Sakaki… what is your personal favorite type of noodle? I'm kinda lost."

"M-mine? My favorite is-" she started quietly, but was hastily interrupted by Tomo.

"Hey, why didn't you ask me ZaXo… your date?" Tomo asked, sounding more hurt than angry. ZaXo was quickly regretting his asking Sakaki first. He hadn't even thought that it might be considered rude to do so. As much as he disliked Tomo angry at him, he would rather have that than her feeling neglected.

"I, well, I…" he began, but couldn't think of what to say. He didn't want to bring up that he just wanted Sakaki to open up to everyone a bit. He didn't want Sakaki mad at him too. So, he decided to just settle. "Sorry Tomo. You're right."

"It's just fine. Anyway, you should go with the vegetable ramen, because I've seen those ramen noodles from America. Trust me, it's nothing like real ramen," Tomo stated in a slightly triumphant sounding voice.

"Wow, good job Tomo. I didn't expect such a straightforward answer," Yomi praised her friend.

"Yeah, you're full of surprises tonight, from the way you dressed to the way you're handling yourself. Why aren't you like this at school Tomo?" ZaXo inquired, trying again to make conversation.

"Wadd'ya mean? D'you not like how I normally act?" Tomo responded, a little harsher than before.

"Well, no I didn't say that. I just meant… you have a lot more energy normally," ZaXo tried to explain. Tomo didn't respond, and instead looked back at her menu in silence. ZaXo wondered if this awkward tension in the group would ever go away, and how many times he was going to accidentally escalate it.

"Good evening. Are you ready to order?" a waitress suddenly asked politely as she walked up.

"I'll have the vegetable ramen and some green tea please," ZaXo smiled, and she went down the line collecting the other orders. When they all had told her what they wanted, she bowed and walked away. ZaXo looked toward Tomo for signs that his choosing her suggestion made her feel better, but she just looked down at the table.

"Hey you guys, are you excited for the new live action Dragonball movie?" Haru wondered excitedly.

"Eh, I don't think it looks too great. Kind of overdone and too modernized. But I like the original series," ZaXo told him monotonously.

"Really? I can't wait! I'm gonna dress up as Goku and go to the first showing," Haru cheered.

"May I ask why you guys like that sort of thing?" Sakaki wondered aloud.

"Hey, what's wrong with anime Sakaki?" Seijin broke in before ZaXo could answer. He looked slightly offended, but showed no sign of it in his voice.

"Well, it's not anime itself. I dunno, it's just that Shonen's not that interesting to me I guess," Sakaki shrugged, and she too looked down at the table as Tomo was. She could clearly sense the slight tension that Seijin was holding in, and seemed slightly hurt by it.

"What do you mean by 'it's not that interesting'?" Haru shot off before continuing sharply. "Is it too brutal for you? Too much fighting, not enough talking about feelings?"

"Hey, don't be so mean to her. She's entitled to her opinion," Seijin spoke up, louder than he was just a second ago.

"Idndyutdfndme," Sakaki whispered under her breath.

"Huh?" Seijin asked her.

"I don't… need you to defend me," she said a little louder, still looking away from him.

"I just… I didn't…" Seijin stuttered, but fell silent without finishing. They all just sat without saying anything for the next few minutes until the food arrived. The tension was clearly growing with each second. Finally the still was broken once again by Haru. He talked and talked and talked about various mangas and animes he liked, and the conventions he planned on going to. Everyone just listened quietly while they were eating.

When they were done, each of them had cooled down enough to be on speaking terms once again. "So… are we still going to sing karaoke?" ZaXo asked everyone.

"Yeah, sure," Yomi said, and they all walked over to an empty viewing screen.

"Ooooh, let me and ZaXo go first!" Tomo begged, running up to the front. She had clearly forgiven his previous misstep.

"Alright, that's fine with me," Sakaki answered, looking to everyone else, who nodded. Half-reluctantly, ZaXo walked up to the front, and grabbed a mic. There was a good selection of Japanese and English music, to which he was pleased. After consulting, they decided to do one English song, and then one in Japanese.

The two started singing and the group looked up at ZaXo in shock. None of them had expected him to have the voice he did. Truthfully, he was just as surprised as them, the first time he'd ever heard himself actually try to sing. Yomi and Seijin started to cheer ZaXo on, and both he and Tomo went red. As the songs went by, ZaXo relaxed, but Tomo continued to become a deeper shade of crimson, getting quieter by the minute. The others continued to cheer ZaXo on, and both Sakaki's and Yomi's eyes were lighting up. Finally the second song ended, and ZaXo looked at Tomo, happy about their performance. He was about to say that his partner did well, when she shot him a dirty look, walked over, and sat down. '_Aww, what now?_' ZaXo whined inside his head. He wasn't angry with her. He just wanted to know why she seemed to be angry at him.

"We're next!" Yomi shouted in elation, and ran up, actually excited to sing with Haru. It was probably more for the fact that she was getting the chance to show Tomo and Sakaki how much she had improved. They chose their two songs, and off they went. ZaXo winced when they first started. Yomi was practically screaming at the top of her lungs, and Haru was clearly tone deaf. ZaXo was able to force a smile just as Yomi looked at him. She was obviously looking for praise from him, and he gave her a thumbs-up. She blushed furiously, putting even more spirit into her voice. Unfortunately, all the spirit in the world wouldn't save this performance. By the end, everyone other than Sakaki and ZaXo were covering their ears.

"_Yeah_! We did awesome!" Haru shouted, and held his hand out to Yomi for a high five. She was so happy that she returned it with energy, and then looked at the others for their input.

"Wow Yomi, I thought you said you'd gotten better, not _worse,_" Tomo whimpered. Yomi's eyes flashed for a second and then began to well up.

"Yomi, I thought you were excellent, wasn't she Seijin?" Sakaki offered politely, trying to do some damage control. He looked at her, eyes wide for a second, and then turned back to Yomi and nodded, smiling.

"You were fantastic Yomi. The best I've ever heard," Seijin muttered.

"Yeah, if you had a good vocal teacher, you could probably be pretty great," ZaXo lied. While it wasn't out of the question for her to get better, it wasn't likely, nor would she probably improve by much. At best he figured she could be tolerable, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Tomo meanwhile was trying as hard as she could not to break out in giggles. Haru simply got out his Nintendo DS, which he was apparently carrying with him the whole time, and began to play it.

"Well, looks like we're up," Seijin stated, and he got up, holding a hand out for Sakaki. She grabbed it, rose, and they both walked to the front. They picked their songs, and began to sing. Seijin was just average, but the second Sakaki sang her first note, everyone's ears perked up. She was amazing. Every note was near flawless. ZaXo stared like a statue until Yomi responded to his shocked expression.

"Yeah, she's easily the best out of all of us. You should have sung with her. Maybe you still could," she told him, her eyes still slightly teary. ZaXo agreed with her in his mind. He was actually a bit jealous of Seijin at the moment, who seemed to be having a great time up there.

"Hey Tomo, would you mind if I sung one with Sakaki after this?" he decidedly asked his date. He had temporarily forgotten that she was angry with him for something.

"…Do whatever you want," she told him coldly, folding her arms across her chest.

"Tomo, what did I do? I don't want you to be angry with me," ZaXo admitted concernedly.

"I'm not angry… I'm furious," she confessed, ice growing by the second in her voice. ZaXo knew asking again might turn that ice into an explosion of fire, but he had to.

"Tomo, please. You're my friend, and I want to fix this. So what is it that's bothering you?" he repeated. She looked at him, and sure enough, began to raise her voice.

"How could you do that?" she yelled, though the music and singing was too loud for anyone but ZaXo, Yomi, and Haru to hear.

"Do what?" ZaXo wondered innocently.

"You purposely grabbed all the attention up there didn't you? You knew that everyone would love hearing you, so you just stole the spotlight!" she shouted, once again turning red from anger.

"What? Don't be ridiculous Tomo. I wouldn't do that. I didn't mean to have everyone's eyes on me. I was trying to have a good time with you."

"Yeah? How am I suppose to have a good time when nobody cares that I was even up there, huh?" she responded venomously.

"Tomo, I'm sorry. Had I known you felt that way, I would have… I dunno, sung worse or something."

Almost immediately, ZaXo wished he could take back his last statement. Tomo's anger almost completely shut down, becoming a mix between all-out rage and hurt.

"Whatever. Just go sing with your crush up there, and leave me alone," Tomo shot, and turned away from him. ZaXo didn't really understand what just happened. How was he supposed to control the reactions of everyone else?

"Hey ZaXo. I'm sorry. Next time I'll tell everyone to react more casually," Yomi whispered in his ear, so that Tomo couldn't hear.

"Thanks, but I don't think there's gonna be a next time," he told her. The second song between Sakaki and Seijin finished right at that moment, and they were both smiling pleasantly, unaware of what just happened.

"Wow, you were great Seijin," Sakaki said, smiling.

"Yeah, you too. But might I just say that when you do your higher notes, try to keep your voice down a bit. It sounds sort of like you're trying too hard," Seijin responded politely. However, Sakaki didn't seem to think it was so polite.

"What? You're going to criticize me, but tell Yomi she was the best you've ever heard?" Sakaki whispered in a hurt tone, though not quietly enough. Yomi quickly went to tears and ran from the room.

"Yomi, I didn't mean anything by that!" Sakaki shouted after her, but she didn't follow her friend. Instead she just stood there, her eyes now becoming red and teary as well. "Thanks Seijin," she said, looking at him in slight anger.

"What did I do? You're the one that made the comment," he explained, still no anger in his voice. Sakaki saw the lack of emotion as his way of saying he was above getting upset with her, and this only made her more distraught.

ZaXo didn't like how this was turning out, but he had to go see if he could console Yomi. Walking outside, he saw her with her arms crossed, behind the daily special sign for the restaurant. "Yomi, are you alright?" he asked, but she didn't respond. "Yomi, it's okay. Sakaki was only upset with Seijin. She didn't mean anything by it."

Yomi turned to him and glared, eyes puffy. "Oh sure she didn't. I don't really care anyway. I just… I just put so much work into getting better, and it didn't change anything. And what do you care? You were probably lying to me as well, weren't you?"

ZaXo thought about this, and decided to tell the truth. "Well, kind of. Now hear me out before you get angry with me Yomi. I'm sorry to say that I don't think you can become a great singer like I claimed earlier. However, I know that given a proper instructor, you could at least become average," he smiled genuinely, hoping for a positive response. Yomi stood in silence for a few seconds, and then wiped her eyes off.

"Will you teach me then? I mean, you are a musician, and you owe me for lying," she half-giggled, grinning.

"Of course I will," ZaXo agreed, sighing with relief that she was no longer mad at him. "I'm going to make sure that you become the best singer that you can Yomi. I promise."

She blushed and her smile grew before responding. "Are you lying to me again?" Yomi joked, and they both laughed. She grabbed him by the arm, and he led her back inside… where Seijin and Sakaki were still arguing. Tomo still sat looking away from everyone, and Haru was in his own little video game world, seemingly oblivious to everything going on around him.

"No, the fact that you said what you did has nothing to do with me! You're the one who made the comment, so I ask again, how is this suppose to be my fault?" Seijin told his date. He was now showing a little frustration with the situation.

"But if yo-" Sakaki started, but Yomi and ZaXo got in between the two, and they both stopped dead.

"C'mon guys, it's okay. I'm not mad Sakaki, so don't worry about it," Yomi assured her old friend. Sakaki smiled, and they hugged.

"I'm still so sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I swear," Sakaki cried.

"Sakaki, you don't have to explain anything to me."

ZaXo simply looked at Seijin and he immediately calmed down. "Sorry, I overreacted," Seijin told him.

"Yeah, you did," ZaXo said sarcastically and they both smiled. He was actually feeling something odd inside. He was almost… happy that things had ended up this way. But why? '_That's not right. I shouldn't be happy about this._' ZaXo fought with himself, pushing the feeling aside. He still had a problem to take care of after all. He then walked over to console Tomo.

"Tomo, I'm truly sorry. Can we move on, and start over as if this never happened? I never meant to make you feel inadequate or anything, I swear," ZaXo explained truthfully.

"… No, it happened and there's no turning back ZaXo… I'm afraid that I don't love you anymore. It's over," she responded grimly. He had to fight off a laugh before responding.

"Aww, that's too bad. But I guess it's for the best," ZaXo replied, and he held out a hand for her. She took it, and then walked over to everyone else, ZaXo close behind.

"It's been a horrible day. Let's go home," Yomi sighed, and they all agreed.

The group started to walk out, and noticed Haru wasn't with them.

"Hey Haru, you coming? We're leaving," ZaXo shouted to him. The boy didn't respond, so the walked over and shook him out of his entrancement. "Hey, we're leaving," he repeated, and Haru closed his DS, smiling widely.

It was now almost 8'O'clock, and the sun was just above the horizon as they walked outside. They began to walk to Yomi's house where they would then split up. Everyone was in silence until…

"Hey guys, wasn't that an awesome date? We should _definitely_ do that again sometime!" Haru cheered in victory. Obviously, he was indeed unaware of everything that had taken place. Everyone else looked at each other and laughed.

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Meanwhile, Chiyo, Kagura, Osaka, and Kaorin each sat in their rooms, all of them sporting a slightly sour look and laying on their beds in defeat. "So, did you guys find any dates?" Kagura asked the group monotonously over the phone.

"… Nope…" they all replied one after the other. One by one they hung the phones up in silence and went to bed.

"So much for having a better night then Yomi and the others," Kagura groaned to herself as she shut of her lamp, not knowing that it was probably better that they _hadn't_ had a date at all.

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**Whew, that was crazy hard to write, because while I had an idea of WHAT I wanted to happen, the 'HOW' was very hard to do while still keep the characters, well... in character. Sorry I couldn't describe Sakaki's clothes better. I don't know the names of different girls' clothing, lol. All things Dragonball, Star Wars, and Nintendo belong to their respective owners. Review if you would, please. Hope you liked:)**


	6. He's A Menace

**Fifth chapter begins right now *crowd cheering*. Hope you enjoy it... All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their amazing and respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 5: He's A Menace**

"So how was your date last night?" Chiyo asked ZaXo as he arrived at the usual meeting place before school. He'd arrived earlier than normal, so he was the only one there besides her.

"Uhh… it was… different than expected," ZaXo told her, thinking about all the craziness that had ensued the night before. "Truly a night to remember," he added in partial sarcasm.

"What do you mean? Why was it different than expected? Did something amazing happen?"

"Well, nothing amazing really, but things _did_ happen."

"You mean… did you and Tomo kiss? Or did Sakaki and Seijin? Oh, don't tell me; Yomi actually does like Haru?" Chiyo questioned excitedly.

"No no no, nothing like that."

"So how did it go then?" she asked eagerly, unable to hold in her rambunctious curiosity.

"Well, if we only tell you what happened for ninety percent of the date, it went horrible,"Yomi interrupted as she arrived at the meeting place. She then gave ZaXo a smile, which he returned before she continued. "But if we tell you about the last five minutes, then it wasn't a total disaster."

"It went amazing for Haru, though that's because he wasn't paying attention to most of the night's events," ZaXo joked. "So what part do you wanna hear Chiyo, the good or the bad?" he grinned.

"C'mon, please just tell me what happened! Please you guys!" she begged, unable to curb her curiosity.

"Alright, alright," he laughed, and began to tell her what had taken place. "-and so then Tomo told me that she didn't like me anymore. I'm kind of glad because I'm not her type, and she's not mine either, but don't tell her that. Oh, and since Haru didn't even notice anything that happened, he wants to do it again. But that's not gonna happen I don't think," ZaXo finished, before another thought occurred to him. "Oh, and Yomi wants to get better at singing so I'm gonna h-OW!" he howled as Yomi elbowed him in the gut. Luckily, Kagura, Osaka, and Kaorin were just arriving so Chiyo didn't notice.

"I don't want you to tell anyone yet. If I really can get better, I want it to be a surprise," Yomi whispered, while the others were distracted.

"My bad," ZaXo groaned as Chiyo turned back around to face him.

"So what were you s… ZaXo what's wrong?" she questioned.

"Oh, nothing. Just ,um, a stomach ache. I didn't eat breakfast this morning," he lied quickly.

"Okay then, so what were you saying?"

"I was just going to say that… I'm gonna cheer Yomi on as she continues to try to get better at singing."

"Oh, I see," Chiyo said, before looking at Kaorin, Kagura, and Osaka. "We couldn't find any dates. But I'm alright with it now that I heard how it went for you guys. I don't think I'm quite ready for dating yet if that's how it is."

"Ooooh, it went bad for you all then, huh?" Kagura asked in triumph.

"What did you expect with Haru there?" Yomi responded.

"I guess that's true, but did he really cause that much trouble?"

"Well… not really. Not at least for anyone besides Yomi," ZaXo told Kagura.

"So it went good for everyone but Yomi then," she retorted.

"Um, not really."

"Then tell me what happened," Kagura shot impatiently. ZaXo sighed, and began to tell the story again. By the time he was done, the rest of the group had arrived, and they began the walk to school. As they all strolled into the class, surprise hit them hard, a loud and all too familiar voice calling them from across the room.

"Hey you guys! What's up?" the person yelled spiritedly. Yomi gave a whimper as she darted from the front of the group to the back. It was Haru who had called out to them.

"H-hey Haru, what are you doing here?" ZaXo stuttered.

"Oh, I transferred to all of Yomi's required classes."

"So that means… you're in all of _our_ required classes too," ZaXo responded in false excitement.

"Ahh, really? That's so cool! We're all gonna be best buddies by the end of college. Friends forever!" Haru cheered. As expected, for the first half of the day he was all over Yomi, who could barely get a moment away from him. The boy drove everyone insane with his constant rambling and questions. At one point Kagura even accurately compared him to Tomo on a sugar high. Luckily for Yomi, he had to leave her alone during her degree-centric classes, and he decided to leave them all alone at lunch. He said he had a surprise for Yomi, but still had to get it ready. Therefore, she decided to go talk to Nyamo about the sudden schedule change while she had the chance.

"So why are we going to Ms. Kurosawa? I mean, she can't exactly just tell Haru that he has to have his schedule changed back," ZaXo asked Yomi, struggling to keep up, as were Sakaki and Chiyo.

"I don't care. I want to know why she changed it for him. The school handbook says that there are no schedule changes for required classes after the first week unless you change your major… which he didn't," she answered quickly. ZaXo was surprised that she knew this. He had only glanced over his handbook, and was sure that most everyone else had too. '_Did she look through it all day just to find a loophole?_' ZaXo wondered.

Five minutes later, they were at the entrance to Nyamo's office. Yomi knocked on the door and they waited. Nobody answered, but they could hear people inside talking, so she knocked again a little louder. This time Yukari answered the door, a bowl and chopsticks in her hands. "Jya wadd'ya wand?" she requested, not waiting to speak before finishing off her mouthful of food.

"I need to speak to Nyamo, urgently," Yomi told her simply.

"*gulp* About what?" Yukari responded, finally swallowing her food, then going straight in for more.

"It's about that really annoying kid that was transferred to your class, and how to get him out of it."

Yukari's face lit up. "Oh, gright. Dyou go ged him ouda my class begause he is dribing be mad," she stated, eating another mouthful of food. Haru had been irritating her during class as well, so it was no surprise that she wanted him out too. The group walked in and saw Nyamo at her desk. She lifted her gaze from her lunch and smiled when they came through the door.

"Hey you guys. What do you need?" she asked politely, putting down her chopsticks and folding her hands.

"They want that kid out of my class Nyamo. You know, that really annoying one? And I agree with them. That kid gives me a headache," Yukari told her friend before the others could answer. She then went to finishing off the last of her food.

"You guys dislike Tomo that much?" Nyamo joked. Yukari's eyes grew in response to this statement.

"Yeah, you should kick her out too Nyamo. That's a great idea!"

"I can't do that Yukari, you know that."

"That doesn't matter at the moment," Yomi interrupted. "I want to know why you allowed Haru a schedule change after the first week."

"Haru? Haru Itagaki?" Nyamo inquired nervously, her face going pink. "Well, you see… he was really persistent and wouldn't take no for an answer. So I figured there was no harm in just doing it for him."

"Well, there is. He's driving me mad. Can you change his schedule back?" Yomi questioned. Nyamo went from pink to red in an instant.

"I can't do that. It's unfair to him."

"Are you trying to make my college teaching career horrible Nyamo?" Yukari asked, now done with her food. "I want that kid out of my class and in another English class this instant," she told her friend with the air of speaking to a child who needed a stern 'talking to'. She then set her empty bowl down, picked up the other bowl next to her on the desk, and started eating from it.

"I'm sorry but I just can't," Nyamo stated. "I wish I could help, but it's just not right to switch him around like that without his consent."

"I think Yukari's right Nyamo. You're out to get us. I mean, we can't forget that you also refuse to fire Kimura," Yomi told the headmistress, slyly changing angles.

"Yes, but as with this situation, I have a good reason for keeping Kimura… or well, at least I have a good reason for _not_ firing him. Now, I can help you all no further. I'm sorry," Nyamo told them.

Yomi and the others each sighed simultaneously, and turned to walk out of the room in defeat. "Hey Yukari! Give me my lunch back! How dare you just decide you can take it!" they heard Nyamo yelling as they left her office.

"Well, you weren't eating it, and I was still hungry. But it's okay Nyamo, it's all gone now, so there's no need to fight over it," Yukari responded. Sakaki closed the door behind them, and the rest of the conversation became nothing more than muffled voices.

"Karma?" Yomi said simply to the others.

"Yup," ZaXo answered, also slightly annoyed that he now had to deal with Haru for at least a year, which could have been the rest of his life as far as he was concerned.

Surprisingly, the rest of the day was fairly Haru free. He didn't show up for whatever reason in any of their other required classes, and they didn't meet him in the halls either… that is, until right after school had gotten over.

When the last class of the day ended, they all met outside to walk home. Surprisingly, Seijin and Sakaki were once again on good terms. Seijin was telling her about something interesting he learned today in class, and she was silently smiling and nodding, as she so often did in conversation. Tomo on the other hand had refused to talk to ZaXo all day. She simply told him that she needed time away before she could accept him as a friend again, to which he had to stifle a chuckle. As the group prepared to head home, Haru called out to them from the front doors of the school, and walked up with a bag that was full to the brim with what looked like clothes. Yomi looked terrified, but stayed where she was, as if she had a mission to take care of.

"Hello my dear sweet Yomi-kins," Haru chimed, kissing her on each cheek. Her look of disgust was only rivaled by his look of enjoyment. "Guess what I have? It's your surprise! I had to skip half of today's classes to finish it. How much do you love me?" Haru continued, smiling wider each second. Yomi waited a while before finding a way to respond.

"Haru… I do-" she began, but the hyper boy almost immediately cut her off. By now she was clearly trying hard to keep calm.

"It's okay my sweet. Don't say a word. I just want to see the look on your face when I show you this magnificent surprise!" he told her. Yomi looked as if she was about to explode. Haru then began rustling through the bag.

"Yomi, relax. It's not worth getting upset about," ZaXo whispered to her. Though this was true, he was only using it as an excuse so she didn't start a scene. "Just calm down and breathe deeply."

Yomi looked at him for a second, and forced herself to agree. She began to breathe slow and steady. Everyone else looked like they could probably use some deep breathing too. Only Chiyo, Sakaki, and Osaka -who wasn't even paying attention-, were able to keep completely calm. Haru had just been _that_ annoying the whole first half of the day. But other than Yomi, Kaorin looked the most annoyed, because on top of her required classes, she also had to spend fashion design with him. But there was something odd about her expression. The way she looked at Haru digging through his stuff gave off the vibe that she knew what Haru's surprise was going to be.

Finally he found what he wanted, and with a relieved sigh, pulled it from his bag. In his hands was a fairly small amount of pink and blue cloth with silver linings. Everyone looked at him oddly, as he handed it all to Yomi, and grabbed one last thing from the bag. It was a helmet with a big fake blade on the top. The helmet was pink with silver linings like some of the clothing. It had a kidney shaped hole on each side, and didn't cover the wearers face. The puzzled looks on the group grew as Yomi lifted each separate article of clothing. There were two pink, shin high boots, and two pink gloves in one hand. In the other she held up a blue bikini bottom with silver linings, and a fairly small blue top with silver linings, with a blue pauldron on each shoulder. Also in this hand was a blue-green cape, draping over her arm, almost reaching the ground.

Everyone just stared at what they saw, unable to even fathom where to begin. Haru handed her the helmet, and then got the rest of the clothing out of the bag. He had a blue belt, blue wristbands, a sleeveless orange-red shirt, and matching orange-red pants. On the shirt was a white circle with black Kanji in it. In his other hand he had a spiky black wig, a furry thing that looked like a tail, and a red pole in a leather sheath that was attached to a rope. As soon as he put on the fake hair, ZaXo knew exactly what both of these costumes were, as apparently did Seijin and Tomo. Nobody else had a clue what was going on, but the two boys looked at each other and began to laugh hysterically, Tomo smiling deviously at this turn of events.

"Wait? You mean you really are planning to go to that Dragonball movie on opening night dressed as Goku? And you want Yomi to be little Chi-Chi?" ZaXo gasped through his laughter. At the word Dragonball, Osaka casually looked up from the blades of grass she was collecting her left hand. Haru didn't seem to notice that the rest of them thought he was crazy, and answered as if they were having a casual conversation over tea.

"Exactly. It's such a great idea. I made these suits myself! Don't you like them Yomi dear?" he asked hopefully. ZaXo had to admit that they were very finely crafted. If he really did make them himself, Haru had some amazing talent. But knowing what little he did about Yomi, ZaXo figured that she definitely wouldn't go for this.

"Wh-, Yo-, I'm-, I-, what?" Yomi stammered, totally blown away by what Haru was proposing. "You want me to dress in a tiny bikini and walk around in public as a character in a show I've never watched?" she finally said.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen Haru. Yomi here is too big to fit into that teeny bikini," Tomo started.

"Shut it Takino…" Yomi growled, but her friend just smiled.

"She would have been better off sporting a hefty beard as the Ox King," Tomo grinned, maliciously continuing her insults. Yomi turned to Tomo, fury on her face, which was now also red from embarrassment.

"Yomi, relax. I can't help you sing if you blow your voice," ZaXo murmured, willing to say anything to calm her down. It seemed to work, as she started once again breathing deeply. She slowly turned back to Haru, ignoring Tomo.

"I'm sorry Haru, but this isn't really working," she started in a falsely sorrowful tone. He looked at her in shock, and she continued on. "It's not you… it's me. I'm not good enough for you. I mean, you took me on a date, got me a flower, and now this. What have I done for you? Nothing. I'm sorry, but I'm just not worth your time, and I won't accept you settling for me," Yomi finished, lying dramatically through her teeth. Haru looked crushed for a second, but then smiled.

"You know, you're right. If we were to ever have a chance at success, you'd have to learn how to pull your own weight in the relationship. I'm sorry that you aren't up to par Yomi," Haru told her nonchalantly. She looked at him as if she was trying to pretend that he didn't just say what he did, but before she could respond angrily, Osaka spoke up for the first time all day.

"I'll go with ya ta the movie Haru. I love Dragonball. It's one 'o my favorite cartoons. That little Krillin is adorable," she told him sincerely. "And I'd know how ta treat ya right too. I once had a pet goldfish I won at a festival, and I took great care of 'em… well, 'till I forgot ta feed 'em. Then he kinda died. But up 'till then he was jus' fine," she smiled. Strangely it was as if Haru had only heard the positive things she had said to him. He smiled back and nodded.

"Actually, it's not a cartoon, it's an anime. And the movie is live action, but whatever. I'd be glad to take you to the first showing, miss…" he started.

"Ayumu Kasuga, but ya can jus' call me Osaka, on accounta everyone else does."

"Alright Osaka. Give me your phone number, and I'll call you when I get the details," Haru explained. He then reached for the Chi-Chi costume, which Yomi gladly handed over, and gave it to Osaka. She put it away, wrote her number on a piece of paper, and handed it to Haru, who grabbed it and bade everyone goodbye before walking his own way home. When he was out of earshot, ZaXo and the others looked at Osaka in surprise.

"Did you really mean all that?" Kagura asked in amazement.

"Well a'course. Why would I say somethin' if I didn't mean it?" Osaka told them all, looking puzzled.

"He's your problem now," Yomi exclaimed, and she began to lead the group home, a new bounce in her step. Tomo looked slightly defeated that she could no longer laugh at Yomi's 'relationship' with Haru.

While they walked along through the park, Chiyo suddenly approached ZaXo, taking him by surprise.

"Mr. ZaXo, I was wondering if you would like to spend some time with Miss Sakaki and I today? She told me about how well you sing, and I want to hear it. I have a karaoke room at my house, if you would like to come," she told him, before lowering her voice. "I think Miss Sakaki really wants to sing with you."

"Um, sure that'd be great Chiyo. What time should I come over?" ZaXo asked, a little taken aback by the invitation.

"Oh, don't worry. I asked Seijin for your address, so we'll just come to your house to get you around four 'o'clock."

"Hey, can I come?" Yomi spoke up suddenly, having apparently been listening in. Chiyo's smile almost dropped right off her face, but she was able to just barely keep her composure.

"Oh, uh, sure Miss Yomi. I'd be delighted if you would come," she told her friend weakly.

"Don't worry Chiyo, I'm only going to watch. I know nobody wants me singing," Yomi laughed, and sneaked a quick glance at ZaXo.

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**I hate the word 'sneaked'. Snuck sounds better, but it's not an actual word :( K, I hope you look forward to the next chapter. I think that the next few will be good (and will be a temporary change of pace). Review if you would be so kind. Oh, and if you realized that the costumes were from Dragonball before the story actually said so, add that to your review, lol. Speaking of... all things Dragonball belong to their respective owners. Hope you liked :)**


	7. Songs And Strangers

**Wow it was difficult to plot out the last part of this chapter. I thought I had it right, but I didn't like what I had come up with. But I think this will work out better. Please, please review this story so far. I'm begging you, lol. I have cookies :D I just want to see what people think. Even if all you have to say is negative (CONSTRUCTIVE criticism though please). EDIT: Though this fic is done, I'd still like to hear what you have to say. All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their amazing and respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 6: Songs And Strangers**

ZaXo casually leaned against the wall to his home, waiting for Chiyo-Chan and the others to arrive. Looking at his phone he saw that the time was three fifty-eight, so his friends were due to arrive for him at any minute. This was the first occasion other than the date that he was to spend time with any of them after school. He looked around for signs of them arriving, but didn't see anything quite yet. A couple of minutes went by and he could finally hear Chiyo and Yomi chatting lively around the corner. They turned onto ZaXo's street, and waved as he came into view.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Yomi asked him.

"Yup."

"Well the, c'mon Mr. ZaXo," Chiyo chimed in, turning in place and skipping the other way. ZaXo and Yomi started to follow when he realized Sakaki was missing.

"Hey, where's Sakaki? Isn't she coming too?" he questioned.

"Oh, she's at my house with Mr. Tadakichi and Maya."

"And who are they?" he responded politely.

"That's right, you haven't met either of them have you ZaXo?" Yomi realized.

"Nope. Do they go to our school or something?"

The two girls giggled rather fiercely, leaving ZaXo quite confused. "No, Mr. Tadakichi is my dog, and Maya is Miss Sakaki's cat. Tadakichi is a Great Pyrenees, and Maya is a…" Chiyo started, before realizing the error in starting such a statement. She paused for a few seconds before continuing, as if choosing her next words wisely. "Maya is a mixed breed," she finished simply.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that," ZaXo announced, relieved of his confusion. He then noticed that the path they were taking was the same as the one that ZaXo used to get to their meeting point at the park each morning. He started to wonder where Chiyo actually lived, having never been told. When they finally arrived, ZaXo became aware of why Chiyo was always the first at the meeting point. Her house was almost directly across the street from the park. She had a giant wall with big green double door gates in the middle, and a really fancy buzzer with a video screen.

Chiyo walked up and pressed the big button on the buzzer. Sakaki appeared on the screen and Chiyo spoke up. "Miss Sakaki, can you open the gate for us now?"

"Yes, just a minute Chiyo," Sakaki replied, and two seconds later the green double doors began to slide open. As ZaXo, Yomi, and Chiyo walked through the doors, Sakaki walked out of the house, smiling and waving to them. Each of them returned the gesture and walked up to greet her. When they were about ten feet from each other, a great white dog came running out of the house, followed by a brown-orange cat with a big bushy tail.

"So this must be Mr. Tadakichi and Maya I'm guessing?" ZaXo asked his friends. They nodded, so he went up to greet the animals. He was use to big dogs, as many families in America had them. However, he didn't know a lot of people with cats. Tadakichi walked up and gave ZaXo a huge innocent smile, sitting right next to him. Maya was still trying to wrestle with him, but the dog gave him no notice, so the cat paused for a second. "Hello Mr. Tadakichi? How are you?"

Tadakichi was so tall that ZaXo hardly had to bend down to pet him on the head. The dog enjoyed the attention for a minute, and then ZaXo turned to Maya. Something about this cat was really odd, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "You said that this is a mixed breed right?" he inquired, and the three girls nodded nervously. Looking back down at the cat that he was petting, ZaXo still saw something awkward about him. However, he trusted the word of the others, and decided not to pry further... for now anyway.

"Well then. Shall we go inside?" Chiyo offered, and they all agreed. The group walked into the house and went upstairs, leaving Maya and Tadakichi out in the yard. Her home was huge, far bigger inside than it looked to be from outside. The main hall was nearly empty, with massively tall ceilings, which may have contributed to how big it looked, but the house was still nothing to laugh at. "The karaoke room is through here," Chiyo stated as she opened the door near the left end of the hallway. Inside was a big room with surround sound speakers throughout it, and a big television with a foot tall box next to it that had all sorts of buttons. There was a couch and some chairs in the middle of the room, and soundproofing/reverb dampening foam on the walls.

"Wow Chiyo, this is great! I never knew you had a karaoke room in your house… though come to think of it I've only ever been in your room," Yomi admired.

"My father set this room up for nights that he has guest over, and for my friends and I. That's what he says anyway. I have a feeling he really got it for himself, because he comes in here and sings quite a bit. I don't care to use it much though."

ZaXo looked at the others, who each had excitement in their eyes. Chiyo waved her hands toward the seating and they walked over to sit down. ZaXo sat in the middle of the couch while Chiyo went to set things up. To his surprise, Yomi came and sat on one side of him, while Sakaki hesitantly sat on his other side. He had chosen the couch so that they could have the two recliner seats to themselves, but it seemed that they wanted to sit front and center as well… which was fine with him. Who was he to say they had to take a chair on the sides instead, which -while being more comfortable and personal-, didn't have as clear of a view of what was going on. In fact, he figured he should give Chiyo that same perk. Therefore, when Chiyo was done setting everything up and turned to them all, he got up and offered her his seat.

"Oh, thank you Mr. ZaXo, but you needn't give up your seat. I can sit over here," she said gracefully as she sat in a chair to the side.

"Well, then I should give you both more room, as that's only fair," he explained to Yomi and Sakaki as he got up and moved to the chair opposite Chiyo. ZaXo thought he saw Sakaki look strangely disappointed for a second, but as quickly as the supposed expression came, it was gone, replaced with thankful smiles on both girls' faces.

"So who wants to go first?" Yomi asked, not planning on going at all, as she just wanted to observe today.

"Well, since Miss Sakaki and Mr. ZaXo are the best, I think they should go together," Chiyo stated, glancing quickly over at Sakaki, who went red.

"That's fine with me if it's okay with you Sakaki."

She nodded, and they both got up. Chiyo explained how to work the whole system, and left them to decide what to sing. The whole time Sakaki was pink in the face, and refused to look at anyone. "Is everything alright Sakaki?" ZaXo inquired gently.

"Y-yes, I just a-always get nervous wh-when singing in front of others," she stammered, and smiled faintly.

"Oh, I gotcha." ZaXo agreed, smiling back. "I do too, but I've gotten okay at hiding it," he then whispered to her while Yomi and Chiyo were distracted in conversation with each other. That was the truth, but he wondered if it was the truth when it came from Sakaki's mouth.

Apparently Chiyo's father liked a fair amount of western music as well, because the list of songs was littered with things such as The Beatles, Three Doors Down, Bon Jovi, and even a couple Boys2Men songs. Then again, maybe this was simply because not every one of his guests who came over were Japanese. It took a few minutes for ZaXo and Sakaki to pick, finally deciding on three songs that they both enjoyed.

Chiyo cheered them on under the rumble of the bass, and the loud but riveting dual vocals. Sakaki's and ZaXo's voices seemed to compliment each other very well, just as everyone had expected. The first two songs had them both belting it out at once, each of them contributing the perfect amount without upstaging the other. However, when they reached the third song they decided that it was better to sing separately, as this song was a little more relaxed and slow compared to the first two. The song, which Sakaki strangely knew well, was "You're The One", by Hoobastank. ZaXo was glad that he could finally relax into a song that was in his native language. The music began, so did he.

"…Cause inside I've always known, That no one else could ever do, Or ever feel like home," he sang softly as Chiyo and Yomi smiled at him. Then Sakaki took over.

"…But this I know for sure, You're the one, I need you more than ever."

Chiyo's gaze went from ZaXo to Sakaki, her smile getting wider. After a few more lines, ZaXo took over again. Each exchange was flawless, as if they had rehearsed it all countless times. "…Now I cannot live, I'd die any other way, I'm not afraid, You're the one."

Chiyo's eyes went back and forth between them as they continued. Meanwhile, Yomi just stared at ZaXo intently, obviously trying to pick up any techniques she could from watching him. '_I know I'm suppose to teach her, but she could just watch both of us you know._' he joked inside his head while Sakaki took over once again.

Soon the two reached the bridge, and in perfect harmony both sang it together.

"…You're the one, Who understands, Who makes me better than I am, I do it all because of you," They both couldn't help but glance at each other during this section, knowing full well what the lyrics were saying… as did Chiyo, who was now practically bouncing up and down with excitement. '_She doesn't think this song is magically going to make us fall in love... does she? We've only known each other for a week after all._' Sakaki told herself, looking at the young girl's enthusiasm in puzzlement.

They continued to sing until finally the song was over. As the final note sounded, their two friends got up and clapped loudly, cheering them on. Sakaki and ZaXo looked at one another, and mock bowed to their 'audience' before breaking out in laughter and walking over to speak to them. "Wow, that was the best thing I've _ever_ heard!" Chiyo exclaimed, and then noticed that obviously neither ZaXo nor Sakaki believed a word of it.

"Nah, that's not true. Sakaki was amazing, but I was only okay," ZaXo admitted, before Yomi broke in.

"No, you both were really amazing. I mean, I wouldn't say the best but…" she stopped, a sarcastic smirk spreading across her face, and everyone couldn't help but smile.

"Chiyo, would you like to sing now?" Sakaki asked quietly, handing over her mic.

"Oh, sure Miss Sakaki. Yomi, would you like to sing with me?" Chiyo hesitated, forcing herself to give the invite.

"No thanks. I know that nobody here wants to hear that anyway," Yomi replied truthfully.

"Then would you like to sing with me too Miss Sakaki?" Chiyo requested, to which Sakaki smiled and nodded. ZaXo handed over his mic, and they went to pick their songs. Before he could sit down in his seat, Yomi beckoned him over next to her. He walked over and sat on the couch with the bespectacled girl.

"Wow, you were both really good," she said quietly. "Even just watching you two helped me learn a lot I think. I can't wait for you to start teaching me," Yomi whispered in excitement. "When do you think we can start?" she inquired, getting up onto her knees on the couch, looking at him in elation.

"Well, that's up to you. I mean, I guess we could start on like Wednesday. I was thinking of asking if we could use the music studio at school after it lets out. Is that okay for you?"

"Yeah, that's great!" Yomi announced, and she sat back down to look at Chiyo and Sakaki, who were about to begin. Chiyo had a very soft and quiet voice. It was difficult to hear her over Sakaki, but they could tell she had a somewhat soothing style. The songs continued slowly. Things seemed to go so much faster for ZaXo when he was up there… well other than the last song, which seemed to last for an eternity.

Finally, after fifteen or so minutes the girls finished up. ZaXo and Yomi gave them a standing ovation. Both Chiyo and Sakaki looked tired as they had sung hard, and Sakaki had to sing not once, but twice. "Wow, that's really exhausting," Chiyo breathed. "Is anyone else thirsty for some juice?" she then asked the group. Each person nodded, to which Chiyo smirked and said she would be back in a moment. However, she arrived a minute later with nothing in hand. "I'm so sorry, but we don't have any juice left."

"It's okay, we can just have some water. Here, we can get it ourselves Chiyo. It's rude of us to make you get it," Sakaki told her small friend.

"Well, I really wanted some juice though. I've been craving some all day," Chiyo admitted. "Why don't we all go to the store and get some?" she offered perkily. They all agreed, wanting some fresh air anyway. "Okay, to the store we go!" Chiyo cheered in her small determined voice, and off they went.

The group, which was led by Chiyo, walked out of the front door and up the path to her big gate. Sakaki and Chiyo had made sure to put Tadakichi and Maya in the house before they left. They walked to the gate, which was opening far too slowly for their now quickly growing thirsts. The group began the stroll down the street toward the nearest convenience store, ZaXo already able to faintly taste what he wanted to get. Not too many people were around, which surprised him. Around here, the streets were usually fairly full of people this time of day. The only person who was really anywhere near was a man walking about fifteen feet ahead of them in the same direction. "So Sakaki, do you like dogs and such as well as cats?" ZaXo asked her curiously, trying to take his mind off of his thirst for the rest of the trip.

"…Yeah, I like a lot of different animals. I really like cute animals the most though," she admitted quietly, blushing a bit. The other girls looked at her with a bit of surprise.

"What… why do you two look so astounded by what she just said…?" ZaXo encouraged the others to explain. They looked at Sakaki who gave the smallest nod, to which they proceeded to explain.

"Well, it's just sort of nice that Sakaki can actually talk about that now," Yomi started, but ZaXo looked at her quizzically, obviously even more confused than he was before. She continued, "Sakaki never really told anyone that she liked cute things until our last year of high school. She always came off as the strong quiet girl who was super cool and tough. She…" Yomi paused, wondering if Sakaki wanted to finish it up. Sakaki, who's eyes were glued to a cat sleeping on the wall next to them, understood the queue and finished Yomi's thought.

"I'm not really that tough, and I don't really like being cool. Cute is much better…" the tall black haired girl said slowly. "I…" she started, but paused, the group staying silent for a few seconds. Sakaki seemed as if she was still looking at the cat, though when she turned back around, she looked a little confused. "Hey, wasn't that man behind us, just in front of us a minute ago?" she asked them all.

ZaXo looked back at the man, who quickly glanced at him, before instantly changing directions toward someones front door. "I _thought_ he was in front of us..." he said slowly. "D'you think he heard you say that Sakaki?" ZaXo asked, looking back at the others.

"That's kinda weird. How did that happen anyway? Not to mention, why did he decide to change directions right as you made the comment?" Yomi inquired, her brow raised.

"You guys shouldn't assume that he's up to no good," Chiyo began, though she looked a bit worried. "He probably just... he was probably looking for the right address to a friend's house."

"Don't worry Chiyo. We don't necessarily think he's a bad guy. It's just kind of strange, that's all," ZaXo explained, and they continued on. They were all a bit more quiet for the next few blocks, the amount of people around them steadily growing. About a block before the store they were headed for, Sakaki suddenly stopped again. Each of the others wondered why, expecting to see the man from before. Sakaki however, was staring intently at the sign at the top of the nearest building. It was a temporary banner, hung by rope which read 'Pet Place Volunteer Sign Up'.

"You wanna go sign up Sakaki?" Yomi questioned rhetorically.

"Yes," Sakaki said in a shockingly stern voice, and began to march up to the entrance. The rest caught up and followed her inside.

"We should all sign up," Chiyo cheered. Yomi and ZaXo agreed, getting in line behind Sakaki. It took them about ten minutes to get up to the front desk. They one-by-one signed the volunteer list with the required name, address, and phone number, before turning to leave. The number of people around was growing and growing, many people apparently wanting to volunteer. ZaXo opened the front door to leave, when something shocking met his eyes. He distinctly saw the man from earlier standing a few feet in front of him, smiling deviously. He could be seen clearly in the crowd for a split second, before the sun blinded ZaXo. He shielded his eyes, and a few seconds later he could see again. However, the man had vanished into the growing mass of people.

"What's up ZaXo?" Chiyo asked him. ZaXo suddenly noticed that he had been standing in the doorway for a while now. He stayed silent for a second before answering.

"I thought…" he started, but instantly changed his angle. "It doesn't matter. Let's go back to your house Chiyo. It's getting late," he offered, adamant that they get out of there as soon as possible.

"But weren't we going to get juice? I kind of need to pick some up for home first," Chiyo told him.

"Well, I have a feeling that we should just forget that for now. Maybe we can go tomorrow. My treat," he said quietly.

"Well… okay I guess," Chiyo replied in confusion.

They all started back toward her house, ZaXo ushering them along as fast as he could. He kept looking over his shoulder, expecting to see someone following them again. After a couple of minutes, he started to relax a bit, now feeling that he'd overreacted. However, as he took his last glance behind them, he once again saw the man tailing them. They made eye contact for a split second before their pursuer walked across the street. A large truck went by right after he'd gotten across, and when it passed, he was nowhere to be seen. "C'mon," ZaXo muttered urgently to the others, and hurried them the rest of the way to Chiyo's house. When they got inside, he explained the situation to them all. "So, I think we should all stay here until Chiyo's parents come home," ZaXo told them, looking out of the window, expecting someone to jump out at any second.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Yomi agreed, and Sakaki nodded silently. The group waited in the living room for an hour, just talking until Chiyo's parents arrived. Yomi explained what was going on. Unfortunately, each of them realized that they hadn't actually taken the time to get a good look at what the man looked like. Chiyo's mother insisted on giving them all rides home, fearful that something might happen..

"Thank you Mrs. Mihama. I hope this gets taken care of," ZaXo said, as she dropped him off very last.

"I'll see that it will," she smiled, and waved goodbye as he turned to go inside. He walked straight upstairs and went into his room.

"I wonder what that was all about…?" ZaXo mumbled as he dropped onto his bed and almost immediately fell asleep.

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**There you go. "You're The One" belongs to Hoobastank, as do the lyrics. And Hoobastank belongs to the band, record company, etc. I don't mean in any way to hurt this great band. Same thing goes for The Beatles, Three Doors Down, Bon Jovi, and Boys2Men. To my readers... as always... I hope you liked :)**


	8. A Curious Event

**Well this chapter went by fairly quickly. I thought it was gonna take longer to complete, but it practically flew onto the page. I think it's fairly good, but that's for you to decide. However, I don't know what you think if you don't review ;) All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their amazing and respective owners. Anyway, Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 7: A Curious Event**

"_Wait, no! What are you doing?" ZaXo tried to yell, but his voice didn't want to work. "Get back here!" he screamed silently, as he began to sprint through the darkness as fast as he could after the dark van, which was driven by the man from the day before. No matter how hard he pushed himself, ZaXo couldn't get any closer. Finally the van sped off, leaving him in the dust. "No! Chiyo, Yomi, Sakaki! Don't take them!" ZaXo began to shout. He dropped to his knees, the three girls faces looking at him from the windows of the back of the shrinking vehicle. Their expressions clearly explained that they blamed him for this, as he was unable to save them. Suddenly a loud noise startled him._

ZaXo shot bolt upright in his bed, now wide awake. His heart was beating quickly, a cold sweat covering him from head to toe. He had fallen asleep in his clothes last night, so his shirt was sticking to his back. "It was just a dream," he sighed and fell back down onto his bed, breathing deeply. The alarm on his clock was going off loudly, but he didn't care much at the moment. ZaXo closed his eyes in an attempt to calm down, but was immediately bombarded with images of the nightmare. His eyes shot back open, and he got out of bed to go turn off his alarm.

ZaXo got ready for school, the whole time unable to think about anything but his dream. He was the last one of the group to reach the entrance to the park, and everyone naturally already knew all about the man from the day before. "Hey ZaXo, so why didn't you go chase after that guy for stalking you guys? Weren't you the 'big strong man' of the group?" Tomo asked him in a sly tone, poking him in the bicep as he walked up. She obviously wasn't angry with him any longer about their date.

"He didn't need to worry about it. The guy would show up and then just disappear every time we saw him. I already told you that," Yomi defended him, though Tomo clearly wasn't listening.

"So, did your parents contact the police?" ZaXo asked Chiyo, turning to her as they all walked through the park.

"Yeah my father called last night while my mother was taking you all home. But just as we thought, they don't really have enough to go on since we couldn't really describe what he looked like. Nobody else has reported such an incident in the area, so they didn't have any archived information either," she explained.

"I'm sorry that I can't recall what he looked like Chiyo. I saw him enough, that I should've remembered something," ZaXo apologized.

"It's okay. Regardless, my parents told me to stay near one of you guys at all times for now… I didn't sleep at all last night because of this," she confessed, sighing deeply.

"Oh, I'm sorry," ZaXo told her, thinking back to his dream. '_I wish I hadn't slept at all._'

"Don't worry Chiyo! I'll keep the big 'scary' man away from you. I bet you I could take him!" Tomo cheered, looking around as if she expected him to pop out of the trees at her challenge.

"Yeah right. I'd like to see that," Kagura countered her, rolling up her sleeves and revealing her own toned arms. "I think I could've taken him though."

"Well, whatever. Fine. I've changed my mind anyway. I'll make it my mission to keep Chiyo awake during school… or at least during the classes we have together!" Tomo shouted determinedly.

Just as she had vowed, Tomo sat next to Chiyo in first hour, hitting her in the back of the head every time she _thought_ Chiyo was drifting off… which was much more often then she actually was. Yomi quickly caught on to this and -after giving Tomo a good scolding-, began waking Chiyo gently herself; much to Tomo's discontent.

ZaXo asked his music teacher if he and Yomi could use the room for practice after school, and she agreed that he was allowed any day other than Monday. When he told Yomi, she was ecstatic, and almost gave away to the others her 'secret plan' to wow them with a new and improved voice. "Okay, so I guess we'll start tomorrow like we planned then Yomi. And we can practice three times a week, or whatever you feel like doing," ZaXo whispered to her as they all walked out of the school to go home.

"I can't wait!" she muttered back, still trying to hold in her elation as much as she could, though failing miserably.

"You can't wait for what?" Tomo interjected, popping her head in between them. Yomi's heart skipped a beat.

"N-nothing Tomo. It doesn't matter to you right now," she stuttered.

"It doesn't sound like nothing… are you two secretly dating?"

"Tomo, we're not-" ZaXo started, but she cut him off.

"Man ZaXo, you and Yomi sure do get over relationships quickly."

"Tomo, we aren't-" he started again, but she interrupted for a second time.

"This'll never last. You're doomed to fail together because you are _both_ each others rebound date. Then again, that might mean it'll cancel itself out-"

"Tomo! We're not dating!" ZaXo shouted in an attempt to get her attention. It worked. But it also attracted the attention of everyone else. They all stopped and stared at ZaXo in confusion.

"Oh, well then you should have said something sooner. That was kind of a waste of my intelligent explanation. Really ZaXo, you should learn to be more considerate to others," Tomo told him as if she was speaking to a five year old.

"And you should learn to open your ears Takino," Yomi stated during the ensuing silence, walking ahead with the rest of the group. ZaXo followed, leaving Tomo confused and distracted.

When he finally arrived home, ZaXo set his stuff down and started for his room. However, as his feet reached the bottom step of the staircase, he was called into the living room by his mother. "ZaXo, come here and look at this," she said, staring at the television. He walked through the hall into the living room to find her watching the local news.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

"Listen to this," she quickly stated, turning the volume up.

"… the two story building where the Pet Place Volunteer sign up was being held yesterday, was broke into last night at approximately 2:00 AM. The only witness claimed to be walking by, when he saw a male running out of the building and disappearing around a corner. He couldn't however give any more details as to what the burglar looked like through the darkness. As of now, nothing seems to be missing, but Pet Place employees who were there earlier that day claim that there was nothing really to be taken anyway. The building hasn't yet been filled with any of the business's supplies and only held a table, two chairs and the sign up list at the time. The list seemed to be torn to shreds, the window in the door was broken to get in, and the table and chairs had been thrown around, but other than that, the property was fine. Regardless, Pet Place has decided to redo the sign up tomorrow at the campus of the new school, HKU," the first news anchor stopped, giving the other a chance to speak.

"Yeah, and the irony of it all is that the building they used was in fact built as a pet adoption center nearly a decade ago. Because of the kennels imbedded into the basement walls, it was too niche for other types of businesses, and hadn't been used again until now. What makes the whole thing even more ironic is what drove the last business out of the building, which was in fact, a burglary," she halted her speech here, and gave the conversation back to her fellow news anchor.

"Maybe the place is cursed, huh?" the man joked, and they both laughed a bit before continuing on. "In other news…"

ZaXo stared in disbelief, part of him positive that the same man who had been following him and the others. '_But what would he do it for? There was nothing there, and he didn't take anything. All he did was trash the place…_' ZaXo questioned silently before his mother interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Weren't you at a house near there yesterday with one of your friends?" she asked. ZaXo remembered that he had yet to tell his parents about what happened. So he explained everything to her. By the time he was done, her eyes were wide, clearly overreacting to it all. "Oh my gosh, are you all alright?" she shrieked in the tone of a concerned mother, getting up and looking him over for injuries.

"Yeah, yeah, you don't need to worry. We're all fine. I'm sure that the two incidents were just coincidence. I doubt that it was the same person who broke in," ZaXo lied. "We're all watching out for each other, so you don't need to worry," he assured her.

"Well… okay. I guess…" she agreed, trying hard to figure out some way for him to go to school while locked up safely in the house.

"I'm going to my room now," he stated, and turned the corner up the stairs. The rest of the day was uneventful, and that night he didn't seem to dream at all, to which he was contented for once. When ZaXo once again arrived at the meeting place to walk to school, he knew by the tone of everyone's voices that they were talking about the news on the television, from the day before.

"ZaXo hey, did you see the news?" Kagura asked. He nodded, and reluctantly joined the conversation. He hadn't really wanted to talk about it, as it was sure to just make them all paranoid. However, they must have liked this little 'spice' added to their lives, because everyone but he and Chiyo were joining in. Even Sakaki was staring intently at whoever was talking at the time. And Osaka had her own ideas on how aliens were attempting to corner the pet market, and wanted Pet Place out of the picture. She seemed oddly cheerful and attentive, so ZaXo decided to prod a bit.

"Hey Osaka. What are you so excited about today?"

"Oh me? I'm excited 'cuz Haru an' I'r gonna go ta the Dragonball movie tonight. It's gonna be really fun. I kinda wish ya'll were comin'. D'ya wanna come with?" Osaka asked in her usual dream-like tone.

"Uhh, no but thanks for the offer," ZaXo told her, and everyone else nodded, Yomi wincing at the thought of it. When the group arrived at the school, Yomi, Chiyo, ZaXo, and Sakaki noticed the Pet Place sign up right outside the doors to the main building. Yomi and Chiyo decided not to sign up out of fear from the recent events, but Sakaki was determined to sign up even if it was dangerous. ZaXo thought that it wasn't fair to leave her completely by herself without other friends, and signed up as well.

The day flew by quickly until it was finally time for ZaXo and Yomi to have their first vocal practice. He had told everyone else that he wanted to start recording some songs, so he was staying behind. And Yomi told them that she would have to skip walking home for a while because she had joined a new biology club to help her with her classes. The two of them then met outside the music room, and walked inside. The room had sound dampening foam on the walls just as Chiyo's karaoke room, though this was a much bigger place. In one corner up front was a grand piano, and in the other was a door to the instrument closet. In the back left corner was the door to the recording studio. In that was a mixing room and a single, large sound booth, complete an expensive keyboard next to the computers and mixing boards. In the main room, instead of the inclined row seating that the other classes had, everyone simply had tables and chairs to sit at. ZaXo was used to this room, but Yomi was in awe.

"This is much better than the music room in our old high school."

"Well, it'd better be, because it's used to teach really high level music and musical theory," ZaXo told her. "We're gonna start out here with the piano for now, as it should help you get better with hitting the right notes."

They walked toward the piano, and ZaXo sat down at the keys. Yomi looked nervous, so he shot her a warm smile, which seemed to relax her a bit. "Okay, now let's just get right into it. This is a C note," ZaXo explained, touching one of the keys softly. The piano made the delicate ringing note, and they listened to the sustain slowly die off. "These notes-" he started, hitting each of the other C notes all the way up the piano, "-are all C notes as well. They are just in different octaves. Got it? Same note, different octave."

Yomi nodded, so he continued. "Okay now, when I hit the note again, try to hit that note with your voice. Don't worry about hitting the same octave for now," ZaXo placed his finger on the middle-most C key, and hit it gently so that he could hear the note and her voice clearly. Yomi started, hitting every note around in that area, but her voice refused to go anywhere near a C for more than a split second before moving on. She was searching hard for it, but couldn't seem to get there. Her face turned red and she stopped, looking embarrassed.

"It's okay, just try again. Here, I'll sing the note as well, so you can find it. Remember, start off gentle. Don't try so hard."

Once again, ZaXo hit the note on the piano, but this time he also sang a C at the octave Yomi had been searching in the most. She got close to the note for a couple seconds, and held it there before she stopped. "That was closer, you were slightly sharp, but that was much better already," ZaXo smiled. Yomi squealed in excitement for a second before clearing her throat, adjusting her glasses, and regaining a mature expression.

They practiced this same type of thing for the next hour before calling it quits. Yomi hadn't gotten much closer to hitting any of the notes and staying there, but it was still better than nothing. The two left the school, ZaXo deciding to walk Yomi to her house just to be safe, before turning to go home. He now more than ever thought she had a chance at becoming a decent vocalist, but knew they had a long way to go. He looked at his clock and realized that the first showing of Dragonball was to start in a few minutes. He wondered what Osaka and Haru were doing at that very moment…

* * *

"Oh, hello Osaka. It's a great evening for a lovely movie, wouldn't you agree?" Haru inquired as she walked up to him, both in costume. Haru had his chest held high, and looked as if he was trying to be a big, intelligent man. However, compared to all of the other people dressed as Goku in the line, he just looked small and awkward.

"Yeah, it really is a great day isn't it?" Osaka agreed as she took her place in line, taking no notice of Haru's attempt at being macho. She looked strange dressed up as young Chi-Chi, especially when every other girl who was in line for the movie was dressed in normal clothing. The line began to move slowly as they all filed in through the doors and gave their tickets to the person at the gate. The whole time they waited, Haru talked about how great the movie was suppose to be, and Osaka just stared at him. Haru however didn't seem to notice and simply continued to talk, not knowing or caring whether she was actually listening or not.

When the duo finally made it into the theater, it was packed. Apparently some people had sneaked in as well, because there were a few who were standing up in the back. Osaka and Haru ended up in the front row unfortunately. When they sat down, the previews had just ended, and the movie began. The whole theater roared with claps and cheers. After a couple of seconds, the narrator started, and all went dead silent. However, throughout the movie, things began to get louder as people got bored. Some even left in disgust at what they thought was a blasphemous attempt at making a quick buck off of the series. Haru and Osaka on the other hand loved the movie all the way through.

Two hours later, the final credit had crossed the screen, and they both left the theater. They were the last two out, and when they walked outside, the sun was already setting. Haru offered to buy some tea, and Osaka agreed happily. They stopped at a nearby tea shop -still in costume-, and got some warm tea. "I can't believe that Chi-Chi wasn't wearing her signature clothing at all," Haru announced as they sat down to strangers staring at their outfits.

"Yeah, I agree. I mean, it is s'pose ta be Dragonball right? Why on Earth didn' they make her at least look like she usually does? But other than that, it was a good movie I thought," Osaka concurred before taking a sip of her tea.

"Yeah, it was amazing. It's my new favorite movie of all time… well, for now anyway," Haru explained. They continued to talk and drink their refreshments until it was dark out. The tea shop owner told them that it was closing in ten minutes, so they walked outside, and began the journey home.

When they arrived at Osaka's home, the girl turned to face her new, equally awkward friend. "G'night Haru, and may your dreams be full of dragons," she joked before adding an afterthought. "Well, hopefully they ain't full'a somethin' like angry fire breathin' dragons that wanna eat ya. That'd be no good. But come ta think of it, neither would a dream full'a rabid apes. Ya know, I changed my mind. I hope ya have a dream full'a kittens… though there's strong evidence that says some kittens like to eat the flesh off'a their owners when they're sleepin'. I don't want ya ta dream 'bout that either. I guess ya could dream'a little d-" Osaka droned on in her own little world before Haru snapped her out of it.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, and proceeded to give her a big, sloppy kiss. It was clearly evident that it was a first for them both. Osaka just stood there in a daze, as if she was still processing what was going on, and Haru was moving his head left and right crazily as if he was in a sped up love scene from a cheesy romance film. The kiss stopped after about five seconds, Haru speaking up before Osaka could do anything. "So, I guess this means we're an item huh?"

"Yup, I guess so," Osaka said simply, and silence ensued. After a few more seconds, Haru spoke up again.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow honey. But I've got to go home now," he announced before turning to walk away, oblivious to the awkwardness of the whole situation.

"By Haru my darlin'. And thanks fer the kiss an' the movie an' the tea an' all that." Osaka chimed in, before walking inside and closing the door.

* * *

**That's the chapter. It kind of jumps around, but I hope it wasn't too off putting that way. Everything Dragonball belongs to its respective owners (still). None of the opinions about the movie expressed here are my own. I'd rather keep my opinion to myself ;) Hope you liked :)**


	9. Weather Does Strange Things

**Well, here's the 8th chapter. I hope it is as good as the others. Please review if you have the time. It's very much appreciated. All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their amazing and respective owners. Anyway, Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Weather Does Strange Things**

It had been nearly two months since everyone's college experience started, and boy was it an experience. ZaXo quickly opened the front door to his home and walked outside. Turning the lock, he switched off the light, and closed the door behind himself. However, ZaXo grew to regret it not a second after. Too late did he notice that it was raining heavily, a thick fog blanketing the ground. He searched for the house key in his pockets as quickly as possible. ZaXo's heart stopped when he realized that his key was still on the kitchen counter from when he ate breakfast. His parents were gone that day until the afternoon, so he had no way of getting in. ZaXo whimpered and closed his eyes, now knowing he'd have to walk to school without any protection from the weather,. "This is _not_ a good way to start the day…" ZaXo muttered to himself, and slowly stepped out from under the minute protection of the porch.

Immediately the rain started soaking him, the pattering and splashing sounds growing fairly loud. ZaXo ran to the gate, attempting to open it quickly. But because it was so big and was automated, the whole process of opening it and closing it behind himself took around two minutes. By the time he was done, ZaXo was drenched. The few people who were out and about looked at him like he was crazy to go out without an umbrella, but all of them continued on without anything more than a few seconds stare. ZaXo decided it was best for him to run to the meeting place at the park. At least there he should have some protection if he stayed under the trees. He sprinted about a quarter of the way there, but decided his attempts to get there faster were useless. He was already about as wet as he could get.

* * *

"Hey you guys? How was your Monday night?" Tomo asked the rest of the girls as she walked up, Yomi in stride. Tomo had a devious smirk on her face as she asked, staring straight at Chiyo-Chan.

"It was great!" Osaka chimed in, a look of pure happiness on her face. This look had yet to leave her since Haru and her had started dating. Nobody could understand what made him so appealing, but they didn't want to say anything. Both Osaka and Haru were strange, so as far as anyone else was concerned, they were perfect for each other.

"What about you Chiyo?" Tomo inquired, still staring at her small friend. Chiyo glanced up in surprise, and immediately knew what Tomo was getting at.

"I-it was okay Tomo. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you watched the game last night. I bet you did, didn't you Chiyo?" Tomo retorted slyly. The young girl with pigtails' hypothesis on what was going on was proven correct in that instant.

"Uhh, y-yeah, but it wasn't that special," Chiyo said, trying to brush the conversation off.

"Did you see who won it?" Tomo asked softly, though her smile kept growing. Chiyo opened her mouth, but couldn't think of how to get around the answer, so Tomo answered for her. "It was Hanshin, Chiyo… Hanshin. It wasn't the Giants. I thought you said that the Giants were unbeatable this year little Chiyo-Chan? Wasn't that your claim?"

"Well, yes. But I didn't mean-"

"Oh, you didn't mean it that way? You meant they were _almost_ unbeatable?" Tomo stated as she began to laugh in triumph. "Your team lost Chiyo, just admit it. The Giants were absolutely no match. Hanshin is going all the way!" Tomo cheered, pumping her fist in the air. As she did so, her hand knocked hard against her umbrella and it closed, leaving her open to the world's wrath. "No, my umbrella! My hair! Ahh, get back open!" she cried as she fiddled with the handle, trying to open the contraption back up.

"Once you get used to the slight chill Tomo, it's actually not so bad," ZaXo groaned as he walked up. He looked positively miserable. "Is it always like this in July?" he asked the others.

"Yeah, it is. That's just the way the weather works here. Isn't it that way in America?" Yomi asked as she walked over and covered him with her umbrella.

"No. It was extremely hot and dry during summer where I lived," he explained, now glad to be protected. He loved the rain, and liked walking in it… as long as he had dry clothes to change into afterward.

Tomo finally got her umbrella open again, but it was already too late for her as well. She looked to be almost as wet as ZaXo had gotten. Her expression was now very sour, while Chiyo had a nice victorious grin on her face. The group, labeled the incident Karma, chortling all the way to school. ZaXo sarcastically wondered what he had done to deserve the same fate as Tomo.

"So ZaXo, are we going to have practice today?" Yomi whispered while the others conversed.

"Sure, that's fine. And don't worry so much this time. I told you that you really are getting quite a bit better," ZaXo quietly answered back. He wasn't lying to her at all either. She could now hit the notes fairly easily, but only in a little over one octave. They were now starting to work on extending her workable range. But today ZaXo had a surprise he had been working on, just for her.

When the group arrived at the front of the school, Kaorin came running up to them in excitement. "Hey guys, guess what?" she said loudly. None of them could even open their mouths before she answered her own question. "My first set of clothing is going on sale at the shop today! We should all check it out after school."

Most of the group nodded in excitement. Kaorin looked to see Sakaki's reaction, and was delighted to find her smiling. They all began asking questions about the clothes as they walked up to Class Three, but Kaorin wouldn't give any answers. She wanted it to be a surprise. "Okay, I guess we'll have to forget about practice today," ZaXo silently told Yomi as they walked through the halls. She reluctantly nodded, a look of dissatisfaction gracing her face.

Chiyo was the first to walk into the classroom; ZaXo and Tomo bringing up the rear. Yukari took one look at their sopping clothes, and started to laugh hysterically. "Forget… that rain is… made of water… or what?" she asked in between cackles. She attempted to make a serious expression, but failed multiple times. "Chihuahua! You brought those two in my room, you clean up their mess after class," she told the small girl.

"That's fine with me," Tomo laughed, and she walked to her normal seat, dripping all the way. She must have seen this as Karmic justice. ZaXo however, didn't understand the logic behind Yukari's conclusion. He knew that Yukari tended to pick on Chiyo, but thought this to be a little harsh. Though she was younger than all of them by quite a bit, Chiyo really was much smarter than all of them, and Yukari didn't seem to like that much. ZaXo decided to speak up about it.

"Umm, Miss Yukari. I don't think that's quite right. It's my fault, so I'll clean the mess up," he told her.

"Pfff, whatever. It's your time, not mine," she shrugged still holding back laughs. She then turned and started class. "Now, today we will be taking a test on what you have learned so far."

The students groaned as she handed out the sheets of paper. When ZaXo got one, he looked it over for a minute. He hadn't really paid attention in Yukari's class, as she was teaching his native language. And by the looks of the test, he didn't need to either. ZaXo began the quiz, and had it completely done in about ten minutes. Standing up, he walked over, and put it on Yukari's desk. She then told him to clean up his mess, since that was all she had planned for the day.

As he walked out of the class to get rags from the janitor's closet, ZaXo noticed Osaka and Haru cuddling in the corner; they were doing the test together. Yukari didn't seem to care much though. She probably figured that it would take both of them just to get a passing grade. It was strange to see those two together. Though they had been inseparable since the day after they went to the movie, ZaXo couldn't get used to it. He brushed this train of thought out of his head, and continued to the nearest janitor's closet.

By the time ZaXo had gotten back, Seijin was done with his test as well. "Hey, I'll help you out," the tall boy smiled, and grabbed a rag. He started on Tomo's trail, working his way up until he got to where she was sitting. Tomo silently began bothering him about the test answers, but Seijin refused to give in, though he seemed to like the attention.

ZaXo cleaned up his mess, and then sat until class ended. He put the remaining rags under him so that he didn't have to dry his seat afterward. When the bell rang, he was one of the first to leave the room. He really didn't want Yukari to chastise him further in case he left any more water. The halls were packed, but people gave him a wide area so as not to get wet. It felt awkward to be stared at this much, but he wasn't surprised in the least that it was going on. He did still look like he'd just taken a swim after all. The rest of his classes went by in a normal fashion however, Yukari being the only one that day to comment on his damp clothing. By the time his last class got over, he was finally dry.

"C'mon you guys, this is gonna be great!" Kaorin shot at them in excitement, half-skipping down the halls. Everyone opened their umbrellas as they stepped outside, and they all proceeded toward the school's shop. When they arrived, Kaorin wasn't even fazed by the fact that Kimura was there. The shop was much fuller with both products and people this time. Seijin -who had come with-, was the first to point out that something odd was happening near the checkout counter.

"Umm, excuse me if I'm wrong, but is that group of girls that's giggling in a peppy manner huddled around Mr. Kimura?" Seijin wondered aloud.

Everyone else looked in the direction of the mob, eyes widening in unison. Indeed all of the girls were talking to and about Kimura in between ferociously high pitched giggles. He simply stood in the middle of them all, mouth agape, his back slightly hunched as always. "Yup, you've got it right kid. That's the Kimuran Club. Disgusting isn't it?" a slightly deeper than usual female voice sounded from the shelf directly left of Seijin and the others. Everyone looked to see who had spoken.

The woman was there age, yet was extremely tall. She was at least 6 foot. She had dark brown, shorter hair. It was spiked in various places, much like Haru's, though hers actually looked well kept. There were bright red and blond streaks throughout, which caught your eye almost immediately. Her clothing was just as distinct. There were many different colors across the whole spectrum, from black and white, to bright blue and pink; even deep reds and warm yellows. She had on a knee length skirt that feathered at the end as if it had been ripped up to that point. Her shirt sleeves were made of a fishnet material, as were her stockings. Her makeup was strong and dark, but seemed to suit her well.

"Oh, this is Emi Hitsuki. She's from my fashion class," Kaorin announced as she walked over to greet her now apparent friend.

"Uhh, that's great and all, but can we get back to the matter at hand… namely, why Kimura has a fanclub?" Tomo interrupted.

"For once I agree with you," Yomi stammered, staring at the girls in the club, clearly in shock.

"Well, I don't exactly know how it started, but I think it's really strange. He only lets girls in the club. I don't get why any of them want to be in it. They say he's really charming and polite. I sure as hell don't see it," Emi said bluntly. "He keeps asking Kaorin here to become his co-president, or as he calls it, his Queen."

"Okay, can we please stop talking about it?" Kaorin pleaded, her mood slowly sliding away from how upbeat it was moment ago. They agreed, and she walked them past the Kimuran Club to the back of the store. She was practically diving behind each shelf to hide from Kimura, though he probably wouldn't have noticed her anyway. As they walked by, ZaXo swore he heard one of the girls call Kimura 'Mr. KimKims'.

"Well, here's my shelf of what I've done so far," Kaorin said quickly, looking over to make sure Kimura hadn't seen her.

"Oooh, this is really nice," Sakaki told her distressed friend, holding up a very elaborate shirt from the shelving. Kaorin's disposition pulled another one-eighty at the comment. Immediately she went into deep detail about how it was done, once again in a great mood.

The rest of the group looked the clothing over. Of course it was all girls clothing, but ZaXo and Seijin couldn't help but admire it all. Kaorin had obviously not made every single piece up there. She just made the prototypes for a few of them, but that was plenty to be proud of. The designs were all very nice, and would look great on any girl. Haru and Osaka were once again in their own little world. He was looking at buying whatever she wanted, to which his girlfriend was delighted. She picked item after item, not only from Kaorin's shelf, but most of the rear of the store. "I hope he can pay for all of that," ZaXo muttered to Seijin, who chuckled and agreed.

Sure enough, after ten minutes, when everyone was ready to go, Haru went up to the clerk's desk with armfuls of clothing, and came outside a couple minutes later with it all in bags. ZaXo looked at the time and noticed that he and Yomi still had time to practice if she wanted to. She delightedly agreed, so they told the others that they had things to do back at the main building. Everyone looked at them weird, but simply bade goodbye. Emi decided to spend the day at Kaorin's house and walked with them all, Seijin going his own way.

ZaXo and his 'student' walked to the music room to began practice. They were still at the piano, but now they were attempting to use the whole thing. They practiced there for a while before ZaXo decided it was time for his surprise... her first little recording. During music class, he had been setting up a two minute track for her to sing to.

"Yomi. Come here. I have something I want you to try," ZaXo explained, leading her to the recording room. He put his flash drive into the computer, and opened his music file in the program. Yomi looked a bit nervous, but seemed much more excited than anything else. He set everything on the mixing board up, and walked her into the booth. He told her to set the microphone where she felt comfortable, and explained how to sing into it properly. Then he gave her a pair of headphones, and left back to the computer.

Yomi looked awkwardly at him through the glass, as if she felt she didn't belong there yet. ZaXo just smiled a reassuring smile, and spoke to her through a mic that led to her headphones. "Don't worry too much. I'm going to play the music for you with my vocals in front a few times. That piece of paper on the seat in there has the lyrics on it. I made everything as easy as possible for you, so you can get used to recording. When you feel comfortable, tell me, and I'll set it to record you. Don't worry if you mess up. We can redo those parts, and splice them in. Are you ready?" he finished.

Yomi nodded, and ZaXo clicked the start button. He could hear the music over the speakers, and Yomi heard it through her headphones. She looked surprised for a second, taken aback that he could play the instruments in the recording. Most of what was going on in the music was simple; things that anyone could learn in a week. But naturally he and other musicians were used to people thinking much more highly of it, because they overestimated the basics. After two play-throughs, Yomi decided she was ready to start. Almost immediately her nerves got the better of her, and she messed up. "It's okay, just try it again. Remember, nobody else will here this unless you want them to; I promise. So just sing your heart out," ZaXo told her, to which she nodded, taking a deep breath.

ZaXo started the music and Yomi began once again. This time she flew past the first few lyrics, but faltered about twenty seconds in. He took it back and started it at about fifteen seconds, and she continued. They got about halfway through the song before ZaXo decided it was probably time to go. Yomi insisted on listening to what she had done before they left.

* * *

"That was _really_ me?" Yomi asked as they walked out into the rain, under her umbrella.

"Yeah, it was _really_ you. I told you that you aren't bad at all anymore. I'm now starting to see that you can get a lot better than I initially thought."

"Wow, that was really me…" she announced to herself, trying to let it sink in. "I sound so different on a recording don't I?"

"Well, you may sound different to yourself. But you sounded the same to me, because I'm used to hearing you from the 'outside'. Just wait 'till we're done with it. Then we can add echoes and all kinds of effects to it if you want."

"Really?" Yomi squealed. "That's so cool!"

"Yup. But we should keep an original version as well, so that you can still hear your pure voice and how you've improved later on," ZaXo stated. Yomi gave him a wide smile and silence ensued for a minute or so. The sound of the rain wasn't near the volume it had been at that morning, or even when they went to the school shop. Finally Yomi decided to break the quiet as they entered one end of the park, and she opened her mouth to speak.

"ZaXo, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered, unsure about her tone.

"You're a guy, you should know the answer to this. Do you think that this; the singing I mean… do you think that it could get me a boyfriend? Like, would they ignore the fact that I'm not the slimmest girl in the bunch if I got better?"

"Uhh, where to begin with that…" ZaXo started with a sigh. "First off Yomi, you are _far_ from overweight. You look great, so that shouldn't be a factor. I promise that I'm not just being nice and lying to you," he added, as Yomi looked a little skeptical. "Second, I don't think you should use singing to attract guys. That will only attract the wrong people. You should really just try to meet people naturally. I mean, you have a great personality, and you're smart and everything. Singing is just a bonus. If you really tried, you could probably get any guy you want."

Yomi thought this over for a few seconds before responding. "I guess that makes sense. Did you ever have a girlfriend when you were in America? You sure seem to know a bit about relationships."

"Nope. I never really met any girl there I found to be... _right_ for me. I'm really very picky, which I guess could be a downfall. But I don't think I could have really attracted many girls had I tried to anyway," ZaXo stated simply. Then his tone got more serious. "…Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just curious. I don't see anything wrong with you," Yomi said, before quickly adding a bit more. "But then again, I don't see anything right about you either," she smiled slyly. They both laughed and continued walking along, now leaving the park. ZaXo really hoped his parents were home by now, as he didn't really feel like sitting outside on the porch until they arrived.

* * *

**That's about it. Please review. Oh, and just to set this straight, Kimura is NOT doing anything dirty with his club, lol. That isn't my intention with it, so don't think I'm trying to ruin his character. Hope you liked :)**


	10. Wonders Of The Past

**Welcome to the ninth chapter. The next few chapters are sure to be interesting ;) Please review if you have the time. It's very much appreciated. All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their amazing and respective owners. Anyway, Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Wonders Of The Past**

ZaXo watched casually as large drops of rain hit the window and slowly slid down until they hit the sill. As everyone sat in Yukari's classroom -Seijin helping her as usual by writing things on the board-, ZaXo simply stared out of the window into the heavy rainfall. It had been a month since the rainy season had begun and for the most part, it hadn't let up at all. So as not to forget about his key again, ZaXo had put it in his wallet. He really didn't want to spend another day of school soaked to the bone. Tomo must have also learned from her mistake, as the next day she had come sporting a new umbrella with a double locking system and a bright yellow raincoat. She liked to splash in any puddles on her way to school now that she was well protected, which tended to annoy Yomi, but wasn't really of concern to anyone else.

ZaXo looked away from the weather outside, glancing at all of his friends. Tomo was casually attempting to twirl her pencil in her fingers. Yomi and Chiyo were discussing the lecture silently with each other. Kaorin was drawing new clothing designs, Osaka sleeping just behind her. Haru was right next to his girlfriend, taking notes on both her notebook and his. Sakaki was staring longingly out of another window in the room. Kagura had her eyes crossed upwards as she blew on her bangs and let them fall back down before repeating. Overall, it was a pretty normal sight... pretty normal, and pretty boring.

Suddenly Yukari came out of her drone-like teaching state, with five minutes until class ended. "Oh yeah. I almost forgot that I finally finished grading the test I had you guys do… when was that, like a month ago or something?" she asked, before shrugging it off. "Whatever. The point is that I'm done, so you can have them back. Chihuahua, come get the papers and hand them back will you please?"

"Yes ma'am," Chiyo squeaked before going up to the desk and grabbing the tests. She slowly went around the large room, climbing back up and down the stairs of the seating to reach different people. By the time she got to ZaXo she was out of breath. "Here you go Mr. ZaXo!" she smiled.

"Thanks Miss Chiyo," ZaXo playfully responded before giving her a big smile. The smile faded however when he looked at his grade on the test. "What? A fourty-five? How did I get that?" he questioned. Chiyo turned back to him and looked down at the test in his hands.

"Well, you got number one wrong. And you also got five and six wrong," she started.

"Yeah, but how? I know that's not the answer I put down for number one… or the others. Wait. That's not even my writing on those answers! It's kind of like a bad imitation."

"What? How in the world does that happen? Answers just don't change themselves," Chiyo said in an astounded and confused tone.

"They didn't change themselves. Someone erased the original answers and wrote in new ones," Seijin explained as he walked up to them both. "Look there. You can still see some of the old answer that didn't quite get erased well enough."

"Who would have done this though?" ZaXo wondered as he looked around the room. He then noticed Yukari sitting at her desk with her hands under her chin, smiling deviously up at him. "…I think it was Yukari…" he announced to the others quietly before getting up and walking toward her desk. The other two looked at him as if he was crazy, but ZaXo knew he wasn't.

"Umm, excuse me Miss Yukari, but did you change the answers on my test to give me a bad grade?"

"Oh, yes I did actually," she answered simply, to which ZaXo was taken aback. '_She didn't even bother covering it up!_'

"May I ask why?"

"I dunno. I just felt that you have an unfair advantage in this class, so I wanted to even things out a bit," Yukari smiled. ZaXo meanwhile was absolutely astounded, his jaw dropped practically to the ground.

"Chill out. You'll still pass the class with a great grade. This is just to warn you not to drip water all over in my class again."

Her smile widened as she turned her computer screen toward ZaXo. In it he saw that his grade for the test was documented as a one-hundred percent. ZaXo sighed with relief, and looked back at his English teacher. "Do you really think I'd be that evil?" Yukari laughed, and ZaXo joined in weakly. "No, you'd have to do something _much_ worse for me to really sabotage your grade like that," she added, glancing at Tomo for a split second before the bell rang and she stood up to erase the board. ZaXo stared in complete confusion for a few seconds. '_Would she really do that if I made her angry enough?_' he wondered.

"Hey! I got a zero on this test Yukari! And I even made sure to study this time. What the hell?" Tomo shouted in confusion, while ZaXo stifled a laugh.

Five minutes later, after Tomo had found out about Yukari's mischief, the group began to walk out of the classroom together. Kagura was the first to speak up in the near silence. "Hey you guys. I don't feel very well. I'm gonna head to the infirmary. I'll see you later."

"Oh, I'll walk you there Miss Kagura. Come with me," Chiyo chimed in, happy to help her friend in need.

ZaXo had gotten used to Chiyo acting so nice and polite. He didn't however know until recently that she had been like this since she first met the others. He didn't exactly know why she was that way. Even when people told her she didn't need to, little Chiyo still called everyone by Mr. or Miss. Well, everyone other than Tomo, who she tried to address as little as possible.

"Hey Yomi. Do you think she was gonna throw up?" Tomo asked her best friend.

"Tomo, please. You know that I don't like thinking about that," Yomi stated before giving a shudder.

"If she did, what would you do? What do you think it would look like? She said that she snacked on a couple energy bars for breakfast. Do you think we're all gonna get it now if she is really sick?" Tomo continued, acting oblivious to her friend's disgust. Everyone could tell this was all just a tactic to annoy Yomi, probably to let off some steam after Yukari's 'scare tactic'.

"Eww, stop Tomo, please," Yomi begged. "I don't want to talk about it, and you're not helping."

"Yes, please quit it Tomo," ZaXo told her politely. He tried hard disguise his equal disgust as a simple attempt to help Yomi. Truth be told, ZaXo was probably more bothered by throwing up than even she was. He didn't really know why, but any time he thought about it his stomach churned, and he got the chills. It was the one thing above all else that he despised hearing about. But he was determined not to let Tomo in on this weakness, or she might exploit it.

"Ya Tomo, ya'll need ta stop talkin' 'bout that. It's kinda gross… but I am curious to know what it'd look like if she did get sick," Osaka agreed, curiosity getting the better of her as well.

Tomo grinned maliciously and continued, Haru and Osaka now both in on the conversation. ZaXo glanced to his left to find Sakaki walking hastily away, her fingers in her ears. He figured she had it about right, and began to walk away as quickly as possible as well.

"You guys, stop it! That's disgusting!" he heard Yomi shout before he walked around the corner toward his next class.

ZaXo's next period; music, went as it usually did. He had finished three more songs for Yomi, all of which she sang better than the last. When class was over, he met the others to walk to their next required. Kagura was still gone, so they decided to make a quick trip to the infirmary to check up on her. As they turned the corner, a few feet from the door to the nurses office, Yomi stopped. "I'm not going in there. I don't want to get what she has."

"Obviously they scared you out of your mind with all the sick talk huh?" ZaXo asked. Chiyo looked confused, so he gave her a quick explanation.

"Don't worry, Miss Kagura was just feeling a little dizzy, that's all. She never got sick to my knowledge," the pigtailed girl declared.

"Still…" Yomi started slowly. "Why don't you guys just tell me how she is? And tell her that I hope she's feeling better. I'm gonna wait out here."

"Alright, will do," ZaXo assured her, and opened the door to the infirmary. Inside was a sight that he didn't at all expect.

"Are you sure you don't want to join Kagie? It's a great way to meet new people, heh," Kimura offered excitedly to an annoyed looking Kagura.

"For the last time Mr. Kimura, I don't really want to join your club. Thanks for the offer, but no thanks," she responded.

"Umm, excuse me, but where is the nurse?" ZaXo wondered aloud. Kimura looked away from Kagura, and adjusted his glasses. His voice suddenly changed to become very monotonous.

"She's out for a few minutes, so I'm watching this girl here. So what exactly are you doing here? Are you sick, because there was a line of sick people outside last I checked, and you need to wait in the back of the line."

"Well, there isn't really a line out there. Actually there was nobody out there," ZaXo told his elder, not taking the bait for a second.

"We're here to make sure our friend is fine," Sakaki said quietly. Kimura adjusted his glasses again as he looked over at her, his brow rising in delight.

"Hmm, you look a little under the weather as well," Kimura told the tall, raven haired girl.

"She's not sick, and I'm better now as well, so we'll be going," Kagura told him quickly and she stood up, turning to leave the room.

"Are you sure you don't want to join my after-school group? What about you?" the bespectacled man asked Sakaki. She shook her head nervously, and they all rushed out of the room.

When they got out of the door, they were met face to face with none other than Kimura's wife. "Oh, are you feeling better? Well, if you have any more problems, feel free to come back," she smiled politely before waving and walking into her office.

"It's okay Yomi. Kagura ain't sick no more," Osaka announced to her frightened friend who was still waiting outside.

"Yeah, I just ate one two many energy bars this morning before I went running. But I'm fine," Kagura explained.

"Do you think his wife knows about his little club?" ZaXo asked as they finally began the walk to their next class.

"Who knows? She likes him a lot though, so I don't think she'd care," Tomo responded, and she then went about telling him of the conversation they had the day they first met her.

For the rest of the day Yomi was slightly apprehensive to go near Kagura because of Tomo's antics. She was much quieter than normal, so Tomo didn't feel it was as fun to harass her, and eventually moved on to Chiyo. When the school day ended, they all got their umbrellas ready and walked outside. They were surprised however to see that it wasn't raining in the least bit anymore. Everyone began to walk home in slightly higher spirits than normal, even Yomi. Slowly they all went their separate ways until it was only Chiyo, Sakaki, and ZaXo. The two girls were planning on spending the day together, so ZaXo would have to walk to the rest of the way home alone. Usually Sakaki walked his way for another block, but this time she was to stop at Chiyo's.

"Well, I guess I'll see you two tomorrow," he told them as he turned to leave toward his house, away from the front gates of Chiyo's massive house.

"Wait Mr. ZaXo. Do you want to come with us?" the younger girl asked him. He turned around to face them, happy to be invited.

"Oh, sure. What are you doing today?"

"We thought we'd take Mr. Tadakichi and Maya for a walk toward our old school. We want to see what's going on there," Chiyo-Chan answered.

"Yeah, that would be great! I'd love to see where you guys used to go to school," ZaXo said, now a little excited with curiosity.

"Okay, let me just go get Tadakichi, and then we will go to Sakaki's to get Maya."

And so they did. Fifteen minutes later, they were on the walkway the girls used to take when they would walk to high school. "Wow, it seems so long ago, the last time we were here. It was only about four months ago though," Chiyo exclaimed happily as she walked her big white dog, Tadakichi. Sakaki was on her left with Maya in her arms and ZaXo was on Chiyo's right.

"Yeah, it's really strange being back here…" Sakaki agreed quietly, looking around.

"Uh-huh, I remember it all like it was yesterday though," ZaXo added in a sarcastic tone, which the others found very amusing. They walked along talking merrily quite a while until they came upon a specific little house, with a white brick wall surrounding it that was about Sakaki's height. On that wall was a fairly angry looking gray cat, sleeping soundly.

"Kamineko," Sakaki whispered, and Chiyo looked worried. Maya -who had been sleeping-, opened his eyes and noticed the other feline. Immediately he began to make a strange growling/hissing sound, and the cat on the wall awoke.

"What's going on? Do you guys know this cat or something?" ZaXo asked his quiet friends.

"Well, sort of. Can you please hold Maya?" Sakaki asked ZaXo. He was apprehensive to hold an angry cat that wasn't his, but agreed regardless. Sakaki then turned to the other cat and repeated the word she had said before. "Kamineko."

The cat had a really strange jaw that caused his teeth to protrude from his mouth, making him look extremely mean. As Sakaki closed in on him, Maya became more and more restless. Kamineko stood up and stretched before staring at her. Had he not looked so mean, he might have seemed happy to see her. Sakaki slowly reached her hand out until it was inches from the animals face. It looked at her softly for a few seconds before suddenly opening his mouth extremely wide and biting her hand. Practically all of her fingers were in the mouth of the cat.

"Geez, what the heck?" ZaXo shouted in surprise, almost letting go of Maya. The way the animal opened his mouth when he let her hand go was extremely unnatural. He then jumped over the other side of the wall, disappearing completely. Sakaki looked at her hand in disappointment before walking back over to ZaXo. She held our her arms to take Maya, who immediately started to lick her small wounds clean.

The two girls began to walk away, leaving ZaXo to wonder exactly what just happened. "Hey, what was that about?" he asked them when he broke from his stupor and caught up. Sakaki explained her history with the cat the rest of the way to the high school. The whole thing sounded like a joke to ZaXo, but he could tell that the tall girl was in no way trying to fool him.

"That's just really strange…" ZaXo said in awe when she finally finished explaining. He didn't know what to think about a cat that always bit anyone who came near, yet was the one that enticed people to approach him in the first place.

"Well, we're here; Azumanga High," Chiyo announced to the others, staring up at the big white building. ZaXo was once again thrown into a daze when he saw how vast the school was. He had obviously expected HKU to be big since it was a college, but his high school was no more than a couple hundred people, with only one floor. So the size of this high school surprised him.

Chiyo and Sakaki walked up to the front door, ZaXo in tow. They all peered through the windows at the big hallways, where a few stragglers had yet to leave for the day. Neither girl could go in with their pets, but they refused to leave ZaXo with the burden of watching them, regardless of how willing he was to do so. In the end they simply walked about the schoolyard, pointing out many things that brought back memories. When they got to the track in the back, they noticed that it was nearly empty. The rains earlier must have prevented any teams from using it, so they had to cancel practice. There was only one lone person on the other end of the track, slowly making her way back around toward them. When she got close enough, they were shocked to find that it was Kagura.

"Hey Sakaki. What are you guys doing here?" she breathed when she got close enough to speak to them.

"We were just checking out the school," Sakaki answered. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I usually run here most days after school. The principle lets me run with the teams since I used to go to school here, and occasionally the coaches let me do a bit of coaching as well. I'm also gonna be helping with the Sports Fest in October," Kagura announced.

"Ooh, we have to come to that," Chiyo cheered happily.

"Hey, do you guys wanna race?" Kagura suddenly challenged them. They were all caught off guard for a second, but ZaXo was the first to answer.

"What? I don't know. I'm not the best runner in the world," ZaXo admitted.

"C'mon, don't sell yourself short," Sakaki replied, much to the others' surprise. She actually seemed very excited to do this, so ZaXo figured that he had no choice.

"Alright, I guess I will," he decided.

"Well, I'm just going to watch Maya and Mr. Tadakichi. I would never win anyway," Chiyo told them, and she grabbed the cat from Sakaki's arms.

ZaXo, Sakaki, and Kagura -who was already no longer winded-, set up at the line. They decided on one full lap, and whoever got last had to buy everyone else a drink from the nearby convenience store.

"Ready? Set? _Go_!" Chiyo yelled, and she dropped her arms down. Tadakichi barked in excitement as Maya jumped on the dog, trying to wrestle him playfully to the ground.

The three racers were off, Sakaki taking an early lead. At about a quarter of the way around, ZaXo began to catch up, Kagura hot on his heels. Slowly they both passed Sakaki up, but not by more than a foot. At about the halfway mark Kagura pulled ahead of ZaXo, and slowly began widening the gap. Sakaki put all she had into it, and shot past him as well, catching Kagura up. With only a quarter of the track left to go, ZaXo pushed himself as much as he possibly could, giving it his absolute best. He caught Sakaki, who had fallen a bit behind Kagura, but couldn't pass her. They all gave one final burst of speed, Kagura and Sakaki finishing nearly at the same time. ZaXo finished a couple of feet behind them both, getting last.

None of them knew who had gotten first out of the two girls, but that didn't matter, as it was the one who lost had to shell out the money for drinks. "Hey, were you giving it your all?" Kagura asked ZaXo casually through deep breathes.

"What's it look like?" he breathed, extremely winded. "I don't really ever run, and I never really have. I'm more of an art guy."

"Well, you'd better start running, because I want you to be real competition next time," she answered back, smiling.

"Good job Sakaki. I didn't know you were athletic like that," ZaXo then said, turning to her and raising his hand for a high-five. She returned the gesture, but said nothing, her face turning a light shade of pink.

"Okay, so what do you all want to drink?" he asked the group five minutes later as they all walked to the convenience store.

"I'll take a water," Kagura responded.

"I don't need anything," Sakaki said simply.

"I'll take a water too," Chiyo answered last.

"Okay, two waters, a juice and… are you sure you don't want anything?" ZaXo asked Sakaki again. She shook her head, and refused once more. They all walked into the store, and went their separate ways, ZaXo going to the drink section. He grabbed the two waters and the juice before strolling up to Chiyo-Chan while Sakaki wasn't looking. "Hey Chiyo, what does Sakaki like to drink?" he inquired quietly.

"Oh, she likes juice. Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm gonna get her one," he told his younger companion before heading back to get another juice. He paid for it all, and was the first one back outside. When the others arrived, they began to walk as he handed out the drinks. "Okay, so there's a water for Kagura, a water for Chiyo-Chan, a juice for me… oops, I accidentally got an extra juice."

The others looked at him with curiosity in their faces. "Well, I don't want this to go to waste. What should I do with it?" he wondered aloud. "Sakaki, do you want it?"

"Thank you ZaXo," she said quietly, accepting the juice with full knowledge that this was no accident.

"You're welcome, Miss Sakaki," he smiled, and they continued their walk in happiness.

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**As of the last chapter (Chapter 8) the story has started to go faster now that the basis has been introduced. Keep in mind that I was planning to do this since the beginning. There is no way that I could go day by day or week by week for FOUR years worth of story time, lol. They won't be huge jumps in time, but it will be a lot more like the show in that sense. Review if you could please. It means a lot to know what my faithful readers think. Hope you liked :)**


	11. Some Sports Leave Marks

**Here's the next chapter. It's jam packed with goodies and gets good near the end. R&R please if you would. It's very much appreciated. All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their amazing and respective owners. Anyway, Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Some "Sports" Leave Marks**

The trees on the way to the high school were slowly changing to autumn colors, as were most of the trees throughout the area. The group merrily strolled along the pathway that half of them used to take to school every morning when they were younger. Actually, it had only been five months since they started going to college, so the memories of this area were still fresh. Everyone was conversing loudly, excited to be able to go to the Sports Festival, whether they had went to school at Azumanga High or not. They had gotten permission from Nyamo to visit as a 'learning experience'. It wasn't actually that hard either, since she had a soft spot for most of them, and for anything exercise related.

"Hey Osaka, will you stop sucking Haru's face before you pass out from lack of breath?" Tomo said in a sarcastic tone. The two had only gotten closer as time went by, though they certainly hadn't gotten any better at kissing. It was quite an odd sight that often left passerby's staring. Somehow they could kiss with their eyes closed and still walk straight without hitting anything. Most of the others guessed that it was another one of Osaka's strange and rare talents. Osaka and Haru broke loose just long enough for the glossy eyed girl to respond.

"Oh, 'r you gettin' jealous Tomo? We can stop if that's the case," Osaka explained, no hint of challenge in her voice. Tomo took it as an insult however, her brow lowering in anger.

"What? I'm not jealous! I could get a guy anytime I want!" she shouted.

"You could? I didn't know that Tomo. Did you learn some magic spell to make yourself less annoying?" Yomi joked.

"I don't need magic to get a guy! Watch this!"

Tomo held back a bit, allowing Seijin and Chiyo to catch up to her. They were having a conversation about school, neither of them paying attention to what was going on in front of them. But the conversation was swiftly interrupted by Tomo's voice. "Hey Seijin, how would you like to go out with me?"

Seijin looked at her for a few seconds, perplexed and in shock. He shook it off as quickly as possible, and answered her bluntly. "Um, no thanks. You aren't really my type Tomo. But I'm sure you knew that."

"But I," Tomo started before realizing then that nothing she could try would work. The girl frantically looked around for any other guys she knew in the area. The only ones left were Haru, who was taken, and ZaXo. She decided that was all she had left, and took the chance. "Hey ZaXo, do you wanna-"

"No, we've already done this Tomo. It didn't work then, and I doubt it would work now," ZaXo stopped her, overhearing what had been going on behind him.

"Please? Please ZaXo?" Tomo asked again, batting her eyelashes at him. He was however, unaffected.

"Nope. I'm sorry, but I don't think so. And by the way, doesn't begging prove that you _are_ jealous of Osaka?" he inquired, looking back at the couple, who were once again locked together.

"I am NOT jealous!" she pouted, Yomi smiling deviously.

"Hey you guys, chill out. We're here," Kagura announced to the whole group. Everyone, even Osaka and Haru looked up to find the high school in front of them.

"Yay, let's go everyone!" Chiyo cheered, skipping into the schoolyard.

"Man, this place still looks big," ZaXo commented. It'd been about two months since he had been here last, but nothing much other than the season had changed. This time however, there were many more people around. The grounds were packed with people; students, faculty, and observers. Everything seemed alive and exciting, pumping ZaXo up as well.

"Yeah, I guess it's big, but it's not as big as my high school," Emi told him, catching up. She had been talking to Kaorin before, who was now chatting nervously with Sakaki.

"Well, I'm still kind of blown away. We didn't even have any type of Sports Fest at my high school."

"Did you at least have a Culture Fest?" Emi wondered aloud.

"Nope, but that sounds like fun."

"It is fun and it's coming up. But I don't think Nyamo will let us take school off again so soon. Maybe we can go to the next one," Yomi agreed as she joined in the conversation.

"Well, I'm gonna go start helping out. I'll catch you guys later," Kagura said as she waved goodbye and jogged off toward the back of the school.

Everyone slowly followed in her steps, walking toward the track and sitting on the viewer's benches. Emi and Yomi explained to ZaXo what Culture Fests were while they waited for everything to start. Finally, after fifteen minutes the games began, the Three Legged Race being first. Osaka and Haru split apart long enough to pay attention. Haru quickly grew a bit bored, admitting that he was never good at sports, and didn't much care for them. As his girlfriend watched the games going on, he casually opened a manga he had brought with him, and started reading silently.

The others cheered as both people they did and didn't recognize competed. After the Three Legged Race, they started the different sprints. Sakaki perked up a bit as the one-hundred and four-hundred meter races took place. Kaorin commented on how Sakaki could beat all of them easily, which caused her to blush a bit. ZaXo figured that she must have done these races when she went to school here. He knew from what he'd seen that Sakaki could in fact beat those on the track, but he didn't voice this fact.

Next was the Tug-O-War, which was quite a funny sight. There seemed to be two small girls in the Freshman class competition that Chiyo knew, one of them on each side. Both of them tried as hard as they could to help the team, but couldn't do much to change anything. Nonetheless Chiyo cheered her friends on. "Hey, who are those two runts on the ends of the rope? They remind me of you Chiyo," Tomo announced, laughing at her own joke.

Chiyo made no notice of Tomo's jab and spoke up. "That's because they're my old friends Miruchi and Yuka, from before I met you… but I can't understand why they're here. They were in my grade, and I was five years younger than you guys."

"…You still are," Yomi said under her breath.

"Wait, so that means that they're supposed to be in, uhh," Tomo started, counting years on her fingers for nearly twenty seconds. "They're supposed to be in year seven right now?"

"No Tomo. It's year eight. You really should pay attention more in math," Chiyo corrected her.

"Well who asked you?" Tomo grunted, crossing her arms.

When the Tug-O-War was finally over for all the classes and years -Miruchi's class taking the win for her year-, it was time for a short break. Chiyo ran over to surprise her old friends. "Hey you guys! How have you been?" she said loudly, announcing her presence to them. They both smiled and ran up for a group hug.

"Wow Chiyo-Chan, what are you doing here?" Miruchi asked gleefully.

"I came to watch for fun. I never expected you two to be here. Did you skip some grades or something?"

"Yeah, we both tried really hard and were able to skip to high school. It's really fun here!" Yuka explained enthusiastically. The girls continued to converse until it was time for the next set of activities. Next up was boy's gymnastics, and then the infamous ball throwing game. Osaka was now completely entranced by the games, much to Haru's discontent. He didn't seem to like being unable to have her attention very much.

After the ball game was the Scavenger Hunt. Tomo had quickly forgotten all about how Chiyo outsmarted her earlier, and was once again talking to her. "Hey Chiyo, you never told me what you had to get for the scavenger hunt that one year when you used me to win. What were you supposed to find?"

Chiyo's face quickly went red and her eyes shrunk. She looked away in an attempt to talk to Sakaki as if she didn't hear Tomo. The energetic girl tried and tried again to get Chiyo to talk, but she refused, saying that she forgot what it was. When Tomo got up to go grab something to drink fifteen minutes later, ZaXo took the chance to ask about it. "Hey, did you really forget what the item was in the scavenger hunt? You seem pretty embarrassed by it," he whispered to his younger friend.

"Um, it was nothing important. It was really silly…" she stated simply.

"Wait, so that means you _do_ remember. What was it? I won't tell Tomo, I promise," he continued his attempt at coaxing out a confession. Finally after a bit of thought, Chiyo caved in.

"It said that I had to get an... well, an idiot," she told him quietly before explaining herself hastily. "You see, I was confused as to what could represent that word. I walked up to the others in order to get a bit of help. Immediately I thought of Osaka, but then Tomo started to speak. She asked if I needed her shorts, and was about to take them off. I just decided right there that she would be a better match… so I used her to win."

ZaXo couldn't help but burst into laughter at Chiyo's explanation. It was absolutely hilarious to him, and seemed to make perfect sense. He didn't see Tomo as an idiot by any means, but she was a little dim at times. ZaXo dried his eyes when he noticed that Tomo was coming back up. He stifled his laughter as much as he could before she sat back down. "What's so funny?" Tomo asked while she took her seat.

"Oh, it's nothing," ZaXo choked, and they spoke no more of it. Next, were the cheer-leading sessions from each class. Miruchi and Yuka were both in the cheer groups for their classes. Chiyo-Chan couldn't help but smile at this sight, most likely remembering something from when she had went to school here.

Finally it came down to the last two events of the day. Osaka, who had barely blinked all day, smiled widely at the next game… the Bread Eating Competition. "You like this one Osaka?" ZaXo asked her curiously.

"Uh-huh. I'm kinda like a master at it. But ya probably don't know much about that do ya?" she responded slyly, winking and wiggling her finger in the air like a teacher explaining how naive a student was acting. It actually reminded him of Yukari a bit.

"So I bet you did really well when you went to school here huh? You probably got first place all three years right?"

"Well, we didn't have the contest here for my first an' second years," she stated monotonously.

"Oh. But did you get first on your third year?"

"Nah, I got last. I couldn't decide what bread to get. That's a very important decision in a bread eatin' contest ya see. Ya want the right one for the right moment, or it'll screw ya all up."

"Um, how many times _have_ you done this contest other than that one year then?" ZaXo inquired, imagining Osaka in the park jumping at a taiyaki pastry tied to a tree.

"None really, though I did practice with Tomo for a minute once during class. I'm jus' glad they stopped using the old regulation fish hook ta hold the bread," Osaka told him, then noticing that the game was about to start. "Now, shhh. I'm tryin'a watch."

Her eyes were glued to the game from then on. She was yelling at the competitors about how they were going about it all wrong. At one point, she even looked like she was about to get up and show them 'how it's done', but Chiyo held her down nervously by her sleeve.

At last, the closing competition was about to start. More than ever, Sakaki looked intensely at the students on the starting line. The game was the Relay Race, the one game that was guaranteed to never change. And indeed, it never had since the school's inception, or so Chiyo explained. The Freshman and Juniors raced fairly un-spectacularly, Yuka's class getting first over Miruchi's. Finally, it was the Seniors' turn.

*BOOM!* The cap gun went off, starting the race. Each runner on the first leg took off like lightning, nobody getting a big edge on anyone else for a while. After the first half, a tall, darker skinned girl started to pull ahead. She had an extremely serious look on her face, as if she was on a very important mission.

The baton was then handed off to her first teammate, who continued widening the gap between her team and the others. She was slightly slower than the first runner, but was still too fast for the rest to stand any kind of chance. Sakaki's eyes were wide as she watched, whispering silent cheers under her breath. The race continued as the girl in front handed the baton off to her third companion, the next closest team an incredible fifteen feet behind her. This third runner was much slower than her first two teammates, as the other racers finally began catching up slowly.

Suddenly, she stumbled and dropped the baton. She nearly had to stop in order to pick it back up. Sakaki gasped loudly, a worried look on her face. By the time the girl got running again, the others were right on her. She still had a quarter of her leg to go before handing it off. She was second-to-last when the baton was finally handed to the team anchor.

This girl took off much quicker than anyone ZaXo had ever seen. She was already probably Olympic quality, and only in high school. It was astonishing to see the speed of her strides, catching and passing the other runners like it was nothing. Next to her, the rest of the racers seemed to be at a standstill. Finally at the finish, she won by at least four feet. Everyone who was paying attention was speechless for a couple of seconds before standing up and cheering very loudly. That class ended up winning the whole Sports Fest for their year. Miruchi's freshman class had barely beat Yuka's for second in the Freshman competition, another class getting first.

Chiyo went up to congratulate her old friends, while the rest of the group waited for her, chatting about the whole day so far. Sakaki was for once actually actively speaking, conversing with Kagura about the foot races. Osaka was telling Yomi all about her days as a 'Bread Eating Pro', Haru completely left out of the conversation. Seijin and ZaXo casually spoke of the entire thing, ZaXo wishing they had something like this at his old high school. Kaorin and Emi had to unfortunately leave for the school right after the last game ended however, needing to work on their latest clothing designs.

When Chiyo came back, they all turned to leave, right as the Folk Dance for the students and faculty began. The group began walking down the path back toward the park in front of Chiyo's house, chatting lively. They all needed to report to Nyamo and tell her how it went, in order to prove that they were really there. Nobody thought she seriously feared that they just wanted to skip school, but they didn't want to make her upset.

"Yo, Yomi. Do you have the homework for Yukari's class from yesterday?" Tomo blurted out as they walked along.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I didn't do it, and I was wondering if I could copy?" Tomo continued nonchalantly. Yomi must have known this was the reason her friend brought it up, as the statement didn't seem to affect her much.

"No, you can't. Maybe you should have done it yourself," she fired back.

"Please? I would have asked earlier, but I forgot. Yukari wants it handed in when we get back to the school. If I turn it in tomorrow, it'll be late. You don't want me to fail, do you?"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Yomi said under her breath. However, she thought about it again for a while, and decided to allow Tomo to copy. "Alright, just don't ruin it."

"Yes! I'll do it when we get to the school, but I want to look it over now so that I can copy it faster later," Tomo stated in relief.

Yomi casually opened up her bag that she'd brought with, and began rummaging through it for a specific folder. They entered the park, and began walking down the usual path. It was nearly empty today, save for a few people here and there. Everyone was still speaking to each other about the games, not really paying attention too much. Yomi continued to look in her bag as they walked, unable to find what she was looking for. "Sorry Tomo, but I can't find it," Yomi explained, hoisting her bag over her back, though it looked as if she might be lying.

"Hey Sakaki, can I copy from your homework then?" Tomo pleaded. Sakaki reluctantly accepted, and began rummaging through her own bag. After about two minutes, she discovered the paper and handed it to a delighted Tomo.

As Sakaki looked back down and zipped up her bag, she caught her foot on someone else's who was walking in the opposite direction. She fell to the ground, and quickly attempted to catch herself. Unfortunately, since her bag was still in her arms, she was unable to get one of her arms positioned right in time, and it buckled. ZaXo barely noticed this happening, but could do nothing about it even if he had. Sakaki yelped loudly as her wrist twisted, which caught the attention of everyone else in the group. They all stopped in their tracks to see exactly what had happened.

Sakaki rolled over and sat up to look at her wrist. It didn't appear to be broken, but when she moved it, she had to stifle a painful squeal. "Are you okay?" ZaXo asked urgently, while they all gathered a little closer to her.

"Yeah, but I think I sprained my wrist," she told them, surprisingly enough, choking back tears from the pain. The group looked to see who had tripped her, noticing that the culprit was still standing where it happened, just looking at them all blankly. "I'm sorry that I did that. Are you hurt?" Sakaki asked him.

"No, luckily I'm not hurt. And you _should_ be sorry. Maybe next time you should watch where you're going," the boy responded coldly. Everyone's eyes widened at his response, not expecting someone could be so mean.

"I-I know. I'll watch out next time, I promise," Sakaki continued, the sensitive girl looking just as hurt on the inside now as she was outside.

"Yeah, you'd better. Why don't you learn how to walk so this doesn't happen again? I don't have time to deal with imbeciles like you," he continued, ice on his words.

Speech failed Sakaki as she broke down, tears beginning to run down her cheeks while she clutched her wrist, still sitting on the ground. ZaXo hadn't ever seen Sakaki this emotional, and it was about all he could stand. He lunged furiously at the man, grabbing him by the neck of his shirt, and shoving him against a nearby tree. Kagura had apparently been thinking the same thing, though ZaXo reacted first.

"What the hell do you mean, imbeciles like her?" he shot angrily at the guy. Now that ZaXo was closer, he felt he recognized the man as a student from HKU. He was sure he'd seen him around the halls occasionally.

"I meant exactly what I said. She's a clumsy waste of space. What are you gonna do about it?" the boy replied to his attacker.

ZaXo could feel the anger rising in himself, his arm cocked, ready for a punch. He wanted so much to just plow the fist into his enemy's face. '_How can anyone be so cruel?_' he thought to himself furiously. Just then ZaXo felt someone grab his elbow and try to pull his arm down. It was Sakaki.

"P-please stop ZaXo," she pleaded in a stutter, her lips quivering, and tear stains falling down her pale cheeks. He noticed that everyone was looking at him in alarm; almost even in horror. They obviously hadn't expected ZaXo to act like this, and truthfully, he didn't expect it either.

Slowly, he let his arm down and released his opponent from his grip. The man adjusted his clothing before walking off without saying another word. Everyone looked at ZaXo as if he was a monster or something. Even Tomo, Osaka, and Kagura looked a bit frightened of him. He understood why, because he had acted a little harshly. But at the same time, ZaXo felt he had done the right thing. He couldn't just stand there and watch as someone unjustly insulted his close friend.

The group was silent as they walked the rest of the way to the school. ZaXo was in the back, alone by choice, while Sakaki was in the front, being tended to by Yomi and Chiyo-Chan. He tried to apologize a few times, but whenever he'd open his mouth, nothing would come out. He didn't know what exactly to apologize for.

When they got to the school, all of them other than ZaXo took Sakaki to the nurse's office and then went up to Nyamo's office without either of them. ZaXo stayed behind on a bench outside. He didn't want to go with the others to face Nyamo, but he didn't really feel like facing Sakaki either. He simply sat outside the school for a while, everything and nothing rushing through his mind all at once. ZaXo just wanted to be alone at the moment. He wasn't sure whether his friends would forgive him or not for his actions.

* * *

**Alright, so that's that I guess. Tell me what you think. I haven't forgotten about some other things I started in other chapters by the way, so don't worry. I don't want everything to start and finish quickly -one after another-, or the story could get stale. Wish me luck with the next chapter. Hope you liked :)**


	12. Queen Of The Castle

**Whew, that was a hard one. It took so long to write. I think this turned out about as funny as I could write it, but coming up with ideas was the hard part. You know when you have a great plot idea, and you can't think of what could make it work? That was my problem here. Nonetheless, I prevailed.** **All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their amazing and respective owners.** **Anyway, Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Queen Of The Castle**

_ZaXo began to walk home from the school alone, knowing full-well that the others wouldn't want to talk to him. He hadn't turned in his homework for Yukari, and didn't want to go up and face Ms. Kurosawa in case the others explained what he had done. The feeling was strange; going from a good friend to an outcast in a matter of seconds. ZaXo still wasn't sure what he'd done wrong, but it was clear that it was enough to damage, and possibly even sever ties with his friends from Japan._

_As he walked down the steps from the front of the school, ZaXo heard someone calling his name. "Mr. ZaXo, where are you going? ZaXo!"_

_He immediately knew the voice as Chiyo-Chan's, but was unsure why she was calling to him. ZaXo reluctantly turned to face her, expecting her to chastise him for his actions. To his surprise, she had a smile on her face. Everyone else was trailing not far behind her, including Yomi. His confusion ramped up another notch as Chiyo ran up and hugged him warmly. When she pulled away, ZaXo looked silently at her for a reason why._

_"What is it? Look, I know I messed up big time. I made a huge mistake. All I can do is apologize and hope you forgive me. But I can see why you probably don't want to, so I guess there's not much left to say here," ZaXo admitted, turning back around to walk home._

"_Wait, ZaXo! It's not that big of a deal. We aren't angry with you," Yomi quickly explained. ZaXo stopped, but didn't turn back around. "I personally would like to thank you for doing that. He was out of line," she continued._

"_Yeah, and so was I," ZaXo responded in a serious tone, but he still didn't face the others yet._

"_Well hell, I would'a been out of line too had you not gotten to him first," Kagura added._

"_Sure you were a little harsh, but it's not like he didn't deserve it," Tomo further remarked._

"_We would actually like to thank you Mr. ZaXo. I definitely couldn't have helped out if I was the only one with Sakaki. It's nice to know that we have a few people with us who are willing to stand up for us all," Chiyo stated truthfully._

"_Yeah, although I hope he never turns on us. I could probably take him, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a crazy bloody fight!" Tomo joked._

"_I know we can feel safe with you around," Sakaki contributed quietly. At these words, ZaXo's heart swelled. He could almost feel the others nodding in agreement behind him. Slowly, he turned around and smiled._

"_Just know that the next time it happens, he's mine!" Kagura said triumphantly, stretching out her arm and pointing her finger at ZaXo in challenge. "Now let's go turn your homework in so you don't get a zero."_

* * *

ZaXo snapped out of the trance-like memory he was in as the bell rang. It was now November, so a whole month had passed since the day of the Sports Fest and the day that memory was drawn into history. Yukari quickly explained the homework for the day before everyone left. ZaXo got his things and walked toward the door. He was of course once again on good terms with everyone, the thought of which made him extremely happy.

"Oh, wait. I have some interesting news for you all before you leave," Yukari added, her voice stopping ZaXo in the doorway. "For the rest of this week starting this following period, I will be teaching every class through a DVD I recorded. I have been appointed Headmistress while Nyamo is gone on business. She is leaving in about ten minutes, so I can't take care of her important duties and teach at the same time. I'm sure you'll enjoy my being your master," she finished, laughing hysterically at the thought.

ZaXo stood in the doorway for a few seconds, astounded by what he'd just heard. Yukari being headmistress could be very strange, and possibly very bad. "Hey, can you get a move on please?" someone behind him asked. ZaXo realized that he was now blocking most of the class from leaving.

"Oh, sorry," ZaXo began, moving out of everyone's way. He waited until his friends had caught up, all of them sporting worried looks. "D'you think she's telling the truth?" he asked the others quietly.

"I hope she isn't, but I don't see why she would lie about that," Kagura responded grimly. Sure enough, five minutes into the next class, Yukari got onto the intercom, and began speaking to everyone.

"Hello student body, and welcome to my school. I am Yukari Tanizaki, or as you shall now all address me, "Senior Deputy Headmistress Yukari Ma'am". I hope we all have a great time this week." Yukari's voice suddenly grew quieter, as she mumbled something with her mouth further from the mic. "I know I'll have a good time with Nyamo outa the way, heh heh heh."

Everyone clearly heard her final statement, and anyone who was talking before, went silent in an instant. ZaXo sat with his guitar on his knee in music class, completely stunned. He didn't seem to be as shocked as his teacher was however. The rest of the period went without another peep from the intercom. The whole group met up after the class was over, loud gossip erupting not only from them, but from practically everyone else in the halls as well. After about five minutes of conversation about what they had just heard, ZaXo decided to change the subject a bit.

"Hey Sakaki, how's your wrist doing anyway? Is it almost time to take that brace off?"

"Oh, not quite. The sprain is more severe than I first thought. It may be another two or three weeks until it's finally fully healed," she responded.

"Man, that's pretty bad then. But I guess it's better to make sure it's completely healed than to use your arm just because it feels okay."

* * *

As the group walked back into the school a couple hours later after getting lunch, they noticed Yukari walking by in the hallway. She looked at them happily, her chin held high.

"Oh, uh hello Miss Yukari," Chiyo stuttered.

"Um, excuse me Chihuahua, but were you listening at all to my announcement earlier?" Yukari asked deviously.

"Uh, sorry. Hello senior deputy headmistress Yukari... Ma'am," Chiyo responded.

"That's more like it. Now, all of you need to get to class. Don't make me expel you," Yukari stated, chuckling as she walked away.

"I think she's gone mad with power," ZaXo told the others.

"Somehow I don't think that's the worst of it," Yomi answered grimly, and they all went to their next classes.

The following day, Yukari was nowhere to be found when they went to her class in the morning. Instead there was a projector on her desk, pointing toward the chalkboard. There was a male janitor sitting in her seat, waiting for class to get going. As soon as the bell chimed, he put a DVD into Yukari's computer, which was connected to the projector. He pressed play, and a giant Yukari appeared on the wall, causing the class to gasp in fear. The man then casually walked out of the room, grabbing a mop on the way out.

For the rest of that class, most of the students conversed quietly. Surprisingly, Haru and Osaka weren't kissing or cuddling at all this time. They were instead simply talking to each other silently. ZaXo wondered why, as this was definitely a first. Chiyo, Sakaki, and Seijin seemed to be the only ones who were paying any attention to the video, Yomi attempting to, but Tomo preventing her from doing so. When the period finally ended, they all filed out of the classroom, glad that the excruciatingly boring lesson was over. The janitor come back in to start everything for the next hour as ZaXo and the others were leaving.

While they stood in the hall talking about how boring the video had been, Kagura saw Yukari coming up the hall again. They all hushed up as their new headmistress joined their little circle, a wide smile on her face.

She was wearing a woman's suit, and her hair was done up into a high ponytail. She was wearing a lot of jewelry, and had on quite a bit of makeup. "Hello again all. I've got another surprise for you today," she announced in a mock formal voice, before walking away without waiting for a response.

"Great, I wonder what she's gonna do now," Kagura groaned. It didn't take long for them to find out. Once again at the start of second hour, they were met with Yukari's voice from the intercom speakers.

"Hello students and teachers. I have a present for you all. I will be calling everyone, including the faculty to the offices in each school building floor by floor. I'm sure you will all enjoy the little gift I have for you. So, without any more time wasting, will everyone on the first floor please come to their buildings' respective office. That will be all for now."

Once again the teacher in ZaXo's music class looked distressed and confused. Their class was on the third floor, so he would be one of the last people to get whatever Yukari had in store for them. Twenty minutes into the lesson, the headmistress called the second floor's students and teachers out. Class could barely go on, as everyone was talking about what it could be that Yukari was giving out. Even the teacher was in a conversation about it all. About half of the class seemed excited, and the other half was a little apprehensive. ZaXo, all by himself, was downright scared. He was sure that Chiyo-Chan and the others were probably even more frightened, having known Yukari for much longer.

Finally, after another thirty minutes had flown by, Yukari announced that it was the third floor's turn. ZaXo put his guitar away and got up, praying that this was something opposite of what his English teacher was usually known for. The halls were flooded with people behind his class. They were the closest to the set of stairs and elevators. ZaXo took the stairs, knowing it would be quicker. Him and a few others lead everyone else down. They looked through the window in the door to the second floor for clues as to what they were in store for, but there wasn't anybody lingering in the halls.

As they all flooded the first floor toward the main office, ZaXo tried to see if he could catch a glimpse of anyone from that floor in the classrooms. They all strangely had their doors closed, so there was no way to tell what was going on. But he could hear muffled yet loud voices behind each door. He couldn't tell if they were furious or delighted, but knew he would know the same feeling soon enough.

ZaXo and the rest of the third floor slowly rounded the corner toward the front office. In front of him were at least six other students, all wearing bright pink shirts with purple collars. Each of them had a big bag sitting beside them, all full to the brim with more shirts. When ZaXo got close enough, he could see what was on it: There was a big picture of Yukari grinning and giving a thumb's up. Under it there was a simple phrase that made ZaXo's eyes grow in horror. "Yukari Is Wonderful."

ZaXo slowed his walk almost to a halt, everyone beside and behind him quick to do the same. Some of the students further in the back were standing on their toes trying to see what made them all stop. "C'mon, we don't have all day!" Yukari spat, walking out of her office and ushering them all along.

When they got back to class, they all had just enough time to pack up before everyone had to go to third period. The bell rang, and ZaXo gloomily entered the hallway. The sight was slightly disturbing. Everyone had on bright pink shirts with Yukari's face imprinted on them. What was worse was that they all had to wear them for the rest of the week. '_At least it's only for this week,_' ZaXo thought to himself, though this didn't relax him much.

* * *

Finally the slow, horrible day was done, and everyone met outside to walk home. Osaka seemed impartial to the shirt, and Haru complained about how bad the design was. "Yomi, please tell me that this is the extent Yukari will take her power to," ZaXo pleaded. She simply looked at him with a frown and shook her head.

"Well, I don't give a crap! I'm not wearing this!" Tomo shouted, pulling the shirt off, her other one still on under it.

"What are you gonna do about it? Yukari will be furious if you show up tomorrow without it," Kagura responded. Tomo thought about this for a few seconds, and then her face lit up.

"Oh, I'll wear it tomorrow, but she'd better look out later this week. I need to go find Kaorin! Haru come with me!" Tomo shot quickly, running back into the school.

"Wow, that's the first time Tomo has ever wanted to stay after school," Yomi joked, lightening the mood, if only just slightly.

As Wednesday rolled around, ZaXo reluctantly put on his Yukari shirt and headed off for the park, strangers laughing at him and other students on the way. His friends were all at the park entrance, and they were each wearing their respective shirts as well. "I wonder what senior deputy headmistress Yukari has in store fer us today," Osaka said brightly. She didn't seem to have much of a problem with anything that was done so far. In fact, she might have even been enjoying it all. She even seemed happy as they walked up the front steps to the main school building, Yukari's next surprise waiting at the top.

The same students that were handing out shirts the day before were now holding boxes out to everyone who walked by. "Great, I wonder what this is?" Tomo snapped. They all walked to the top step, and the nearest 'greeters' turned to face them.

"Senior Deputy Headmistress Yukari would like every student to make a small donation of at least one-hundred Yen to the school this morning. In return she has a free copy of the new school anthem for you all, which we will all be reading at the beginning of first period this week," the nearest female 'greeter' announced happily.

"...Wait, what?" ZaXo stammered.

"I said, Senior Deputy Hea-"

"Yeah, I heard you," ZaXo interrupted the girl. "I just wish I hadn't," he then said under his breath as he reached for his wallet. He and the others grabbed a hundred Yen each, and put it in the boxes... all of them other than Tomo that is.

"Hell no! I'm not gonna pay to get into school! I'm already paying for it!"

"Well, maybe Miss Yukari really is using it to help the school out," Chiyo responded, but even Sakaki didn't seem to be too sure of this.

"It's only a hundred Yen Tomo. You might as well," ZaXo assured her.

"I said no!" Tomo yelled, and she forced her way through the doors.

"May I ask you who that was?" a male 'greeter' asked the group. "Tomo...?"

"Takino... oops," Chiyo started, before realizing that might have been a mistake.

"You are all free to go past, and thank you for your support," the first 'greeter' told them, handing them copies of the anthem as they walked inside.

"D'you think they're gonna tell Yukari 'bout Tomo?" Osaka inquired, clinging to Haru.

"I hope not," ZaXo answered.

"I hope so," Yomi told her friends, a smug look on her face.

"Umm, you guys, read the new 'anthem' our school has," Kagura cut in sounding a bit distressed. Everyone looked at the papers they had in hand. ZaXo read his out loud:

_"Verse 1: Yukari is good, Yukari is great. She wants all of us to obey. Yukari's delightful, Yukari's wonderful. She simply wants me to be faithful. Yukari is cool, Yukari is rad. She wants us all to work real hard. Yukari's fabulous, Yukari's amazing. When I do good, I'll get her praising._

_Verse 2: If I just follow her rules, school will put smiles on my face. If I act just like a fool, she'll make sure that I am disgraced. So many things I can achieve, when Yukari's in the lead. If I follow just this creed, she will supply all that I need._

_Repeat Verse 1. The End."_

They all stood in silence for a couple seconds after ZaXo finished reading aloud. Everyone seemed to be staring at the paper they would have to read from in a couple minutes when class started. "So... I guess that Tomo is really gonna get it isn't she?" ZaXo asked the group. They simply looked at each other in silence, even Yomi looked a little worried about Tomo's fate.

Surprisingly, Tomo was never taken out of her classes during the day, and she was never called down to the office. Everyone relaxed a bit, and their attention turned to what Yukari was using the money for. Nobody seemed to come up with anything she would want to use it for that was good for the school, well, other than Osaka. She figured Yukari would buy a solid gold statue of herself for her classroom when they all welcomed her back.

The rest of the school day went by without incident. As they stepped off the bottom stair to the main building, Yukari came walking by once again. "Hello students," she started in her fake formal voice, "I just wanted to tell you; some of my best and brightest pupils, that I am soon getting a car if you want to take a ride in it sometime." She then dropped the voice, and continued. "It's going to be way better than Nyamo's. I'm gonna get a sports car!"

Everyone just stared, at a loss for words. Finally, she bade them goodbye, and skipped off merrily back into the school. "You don't think..." Kagura began.

"Yeah, probably," Yomi answered, all of them understanding Kakura's unfinished statement completely. Tomo once again stayed after school, along with Kaorin and Haru. She had forced them to keep her plan secret, and that they had. Haru was extremely excited about whatever they were doing, while Kaorin seemed a little worried.

"I guess Miss Yukari doesn't care about Tomo not paying the fee this morning," Sakaki said as her and the rest of them began to walk home.

The following day, they figured out just how wrong Sakaki was. Strangely, everyone seemed to be talking angrily about how Yukari was buying a car with their money. "Did she tell as many people as she could or what?" ZaXo asked the group.

"No, I told everyone that I could," Tomo said simply. As soon as first period started (after the Yukari Anthem of course), their headmistress came on over the intercom, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Now everyone, I want to set a certain record straight. I have heard rumors that some of you think I am buying a small, fast, red, sports car with the money you all faithfully gave yesterday. I want it to be known that this is untrue. However, since you all seem to be adamant on believing this falsity, I am afraid I have to impose a new rule. From now on, there will be no talking on campus unless you are speaking to a teacher, or other faculty member." Yukari announced.

Immediately, groans, gasps, and roars erupted from every classroom in the entire school. Obviously this had hit a nerve, but Yukari wasn't done with her message quite yet. "Oh, and I also have another important notice for any students who go by the name of Tomo Takino. Anyone with this name will now have to pay double the normal tuition rate. And all who mention this name or speak with these persons' will be cursed with the same fate. I _will_ be watching. Good day to you all," Yukari ended on a particularly perky note

"What?" Tomo shouted angrily. "Can you guys believe this?" She looked over for support from the others, but they were all now refusing to look at her, not wanting Yukari to punish them. "C'mon guys, back me up!" she yelled, but they ignored her. Tomo groaned, and rested her chin on her hand in silence for the rest of class.

Tomo steadily got more frustrated as the day went on, as did everyone else. Nobody wanted to talk to her, each of them giving her a wide berth in the halls as if she had some sort of contagious disease. On top of this, Yukari passed by her with an evil grin on her face every chance she could get. The halls were strangely silent that day, nobody daring to talk for fear that Yukari was just around the corner. "It's okay, I'm gonna get her tomorrow," Tomo laughed after school, once again calling upon Kaorin and Haru to follow her.

"What in the world are they planning on doing?" Chiyo wondered aloud to the rest of them.

"I dunno. Haru-cakes won't tell me a thing," Osaka explained.

* * *

Finally, the last day of the week had arrived, and ZaXo was ready to get it all over with. He put on his Yukari Is Wonderful shirt for what he prayed was the last time, and met his friends at the park. Kaorin, Haru, and Tomo were nowhere to be found. After ten minutes of waiting, everyone simply decided to go without them.

As they rounded the last corner out the other side of the park, they saw an extremely strange sight. At the front door to the school was Yukari, shouting angrily toward a mob of students below her. There was a sea of pink shirts that littered the grounds below the mob, all of them now wearing blue shirts. ZaXo and the others ran up to see what exactly was going on.

When they got close enough, they saw Kaorin and Haru handing out more of the blue shirts. They had a picture of Yukari picking her nose on them, and had a phrase that at a distance, almost looked identical to the normal one. But with closer inspection, ZaXo realized the meaning was entirely opposite: "Yukari Is Horrible"

"This is like a really strange dream," he laughed hysterically as he grabbed a blue shirt and put it on over his pink one.

"How did you guys make all of these?" Sakaki asked in astonishment, though she didn't grab a shirt for herself.

Kaorin sighed before answering. "Tomo pretty much enslaved us both, but I guess it was worth it. This is a much better turn out that I thought we'd get, and Tomo paid us quite a bit to make all the shirts."

"Okay, then how did you guys get this picture of Yukari? Is it fake?" Yomi inquired, eagerly putting on her own shirt. Kaorin's face went red, and her smile faded.

"I don't really want to talk about it..." she quietly stated, and said nothing more.

"Hey, is that Tomo up in front?" Chiyo asked in surprise. It was. She was in front of all of the other protesters, yelling practically face to face with Yukari.

"You're way outa line Yukari! Step down, and let someone else be headmaster!" Tomo shouted.

"Why? You're the one who's outa line Takino! I'm the best at this job!" Yukari responded venomously.

"You're the best? Kimura would be better than you!" Tomo shot back, pointing to Kimura, who was wearing his own shirt design, along with his club members. It was green and had a picture of him on it with his usual blank face. Under that it said: "Kimura Is Kool"

"That's it! You are all expelled!" Yukari screamed furiously, pointing at all of the protesters.

"What is going on?" someone asked near ZaXo's ear. It was Nyamo.

"Miss Kurosawa, what are you doing back already?" Yomi questioned curiously.

"My business meeting got over early, so I'm back. But what in the world is all of this?" she asked again, before realizing she already had her answer. "Yukari..." she growled under her breath, and walked through the giant crowd. It didn't take much time for them all to disperse, and for Yukari to give up. ZaXo couldn't blame her. Nyamo looked absolutely livid to see what her school had turned in to. Tomo attempted to throw her victory in Yukari's face, but Yomi and Kagura quickly pulled her away.

When Yukari walked into the school, defeated, everyone ran up to Nyamo, an important question sitting on their minds. "Hey Senior Headmistress Kurosawa," Osaka started, attracting a weird, confused look from her teacher. "Why did ya give the job of watchin' over the school ta Yukari anyway?"

Nyamo blushed furiously, and walked into the school before they could press the matter further. They were all stuck standing on the steps answer-less. "Now I'm _positive_ Yukari has something over her," Yomi stated as they walked inside for class.

* * *

**Review this if you would be so kind.** **Hope you liked :)**


	13. When We Dream

**This is the next chapter (obviously). I think it's pretty funny, so I believe you will enjoy it. The first school year is nearly over, and everyone in the story has a bunch more big surprises waiting for them (as do you).** **All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their amazing and respective owners.** **Anyway, Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 12: When We Dream**

Kagura came inside from her evening jog, glad to be back in her warm home. She took off her heavy track jacket and placed it on a hook next to the door. "Is that you Kagura dear? Would you like some New Years Eve snacks?" her mother called from the kitchen.

"No thanks, I'm actually kind of tired. I think I'm just going to go to bed," Kagura called back before heading down the hallway. As she opened her bedroom door, Kagura stretched her arms and fell down onto her bed. She looked at her clock, which said it was about eight P.M. She decided to set her alarm for about five A.M. so that she could take a run in the morning as well. She got into her nightwear and crawled into bed, turning her light off on the way. Exhaustion quickly overtook her, and she was almost immediately thrust into a deep sleep.

"_And now, to announce something very special in this year's Summer Olympics. We all know of Miss Shun Kagura, who has won countless medals for Japan in various events of the past. She is most well known for her excellent ability in swimming, but being the versatile woman she is, Miss Kagura has been able to excel in every event she has ever participated in. Well, now she has completed something that most others only dream of!" an announcer told the massive crowd who all cheered for the tall girl now standing on a pedestal in the middle of a huge arena._

_Kagura waved her arms in the air in thanks, smiling at all of her adoring fans before the announcer continued. "Miss Kagura is the first person to do a world marathon. Yes, it's true. She ran and swam all the way across the world along the equator. It took about four months of hard exercise every day, but what was once thought impossible has now been accomplished!"_

_The crowds once again cheered for Kagura as she stood in silence listening to it all and soaking it in. This was definitely the best moment in her life. "So, for meeting and defeating this amazing feat, we award Miss Shun Kagura with the first ever Platinum Olympic Medal," the announcer finished, holding up the giant award in his hand. He slowly walked over and held it up to Kagura. She bowed down and the medal was placed around her neck. He then handed her the mic for her acceptance speech._

"_Thank you all! Thank you all for your undying support!" Kagura shouted into the microphone, and the crowd went wild. When it quieted down she spoke again. "I couldn't have done this without you. Each and every fan is important, and with any one of you missing I couldn't have finished. There is one specific person that I would truly like to thank however, as without her, I could never have even dreamed of accomplishing this."_

_Anyone in the crowd who had been whispering about the events went quite at these words, waiting anxiously to hear who had helped their idol so much. "This person was a teacher to me through much of my life, and she helped me through everything; bad times and good times. She taught me all the basics that I needed to excel in my athletic life and taught me to never ever give up."_

_The silence was so grand that you could hear each of the few people who had yet to hold their breath in the entire hall. "This woman is none other than my high school teacher Mis-" Kagura began, but was cut off by someone else joining her up on the pedestal and grabbing the mic. It was Yukari._

"_Thank you, thank you. Yes, I taught Kagura all she knows and made her who she is. She still has a __ways to go in order to reach my standard, but this young woman is definitely getting there. Give her another five years, and she may even surpass me," Yukari gloated, before having the microphone snatched back out of her hands. The crowd sat in confusion, looking around for an answer as to how this woman had taught the amazing Shun Kagura._

"_Actually Miss Yukari, I'm sorry, but I wasn't talking about you," Kagura said slowly. The next few moments were possibly the most awkward Kagura had ever been in. Yukari just stood on the pedestal with a blank face, processing what she had just heard._

"_W-what?" she finally stuttered._

"_Actually, it's Miss Kurosawa that was my mentor through my life so far. I'm sorry Miss Yukari," Kagura apologized before turning back to the crowd. "Please welcome one of the most important people in my life, Miss Minamo Kurosawa!"_

_Nyamo walked up from the stands, tears in her eyes. As she walked by Yukari, she gave a small laugh, and went to go stand next to Kagura. "Stupid Nyamo..." Yukari growled and went to sit back down._

* * *

Kaorin sat in her room, looking over photos she had from her past. She didn't have too many, but the ones she did were very close to her. They were of important memories throughout high school that she cherished above all else. As she glanced through the photos, visions flew through her head; her and Chihiro at Astronomy Camp, the first Culture Fest she had in high school, Chiyo-Chan in her penguin suit during the second one, all the good times during the Sports Fests... Okinawa. Her heart swelled with each and every photo that passed by her gaze until she got to the only one she despised...

The picture was from her trip to Okinawa. It was of her class all together in Okinawa at the airport before they left back for Tokyo. She wouldn't have disliked the photo if it wasn't for one thing. In the center were her and Mr. Kimura. He had his arm wrapped around her and he was holding up a peace sign, a big smile on his face. No matter how much she wanted to get rid of the picture, no matter how much Kimura drove her crazy, it was a memory nonetheless. Kaorin couldn't seem to get rid of it.

She looked over at her clock, which read midnight, and she decided that it was time to go to sleep. Kaorin hurriedly skimmed through the rest of the photographs until she reached the very last one in the bunch. It was her favorite. She had taken this picture with Sakaki on the day that they graduated from high school. Kaorin stared at the tall girl next to her in the photo, her smile growing wider. She leaned back to rest her head on her pillows and held the picture out in front of her. Kaorin then put her arms down, the memory now resting on her chest. She slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

_Kaorin was running to school, knowing full well that she would be late. She wasn't looking forward to having to face Yukari when she arrived, but figured that the later she was, the worse it would be. The young woman sprinted down the street for a couple of blocks before running out of energy. She stopped to catch her breath when someone behind her spoke._

"_Do you need some help?" Sakaki's voice sounded from behind. Kaorin was delighted to hear her friend's soothing words._

"_Miss Sakaki! You're going to be late too? There's no time to talk. I don't want to make you any later than you already will be," Kaorin explained. Sakaki just shook her head and smiled._

"_Don't worry, I can get us to school on time," Sakaki stated. Suddenly a massive cat stepped out from the yard they were next to and snuggled up to the tall, dark haired girl._

"_I-is that Maya?" Kaorin stuttered in surprise._

"_Yes. He's grown quite a bit," Sakaki told her. This was a major understatement. The cat was now bigger than a tiger or a lion; big enough for three or so people to ride._

"_You mean... you want to ride Maya to school?" Kaorin asked._

"_Sure. Chiyo-Chan rides Mr. Tadakichi to school all the time now, so I figured I might as well ride Maya. It's much faster than walking. So, would you like to join me?"_

_Kaorin sat speechless for a couple of seconds before gathering herself again. "Oh, yes that would be great!" she chimed in. Sakaki jumped up onto Maya's back and held out a hand for her smaller friend. Kaorin was a bit apprehensive, but knew that Sakaki wouldn't let her do anything dangerous. She grabbed her friend's hand, and hopped on the back of the massive cat._

"_Okay, hold on tightly," Sakaki advised, and Kaorin obliged. Immediately the force of the cat's strides almost knocked her into the air, but she kept a hold just barely. They were going so fast that Kaorin couldn't catch a glimpse of anything that was going by. She sat in gentle bliss as they traveled in silence, until Sakaki spoke up._

"_Uh-oh, we've got company!" she shouted, and glanced behind them. Kaorin did the same, and noticed that they were indeed being followed. A man dressed in a formal suit with a black helmet on was right on their tail, riding an ebony racing motorcycle. He was catching them, and catching them fast._

_Sakaki gave Maya a command and the cat leaped up into the air, turning a one-eighty and stopping in the street. Sakaki jumped off of her ride, doing a front flip and landing perfectly on her feet. She had a serious face on as their pursuer stopped his bike and got off. He took off his gloves, and then proceeded to take off his helmet. Underneath, Kaorin was surprised to see that it was Mr. Kimura._

"_You!" Sakaki shouted angrily._

"_Yes, it's me, Kimur-Ninja," Kimura responded, cackling loudly. The two quickly jumped at each other and locked into a fierce battle._

"_I won't let you take Kaorin! You need to leave her alone!" Sakaki shot at her enemy._

"_But I have grand plans for her! If she's late to Yukari's class one more time, she will have to take all of her classes with me! Now leave me to my business!" Kimur-Ninja growled right back. Kaorin blushed in delight as Sakaki fought for her, but that changed quickly as her defender became overwhelmed. Kimur-Ninja got the upper hand and thrust Sakaki to the ground._

"_No!" Kaorin cried, but Sakaki was still barely able to hold her own._

"_Run Kaorin! Get to school before you're late! Leave me!" Sakaki yelled._

"_But I can't. You'll have to spend all of your classes with Kimura! I can't let you do that," Kaorin told her, but Sakaki wouldn't have it._

"_Just GOOOOO!" she screamed, and that was the end of it. Kaorin turned and ran as fast as she could toward the school, determined not to let Sakaki's sacrifice go to waste. 'I can't be late to Yukari's class!' she told herself as she ran._

* * *

Gently, light flakes of snow fell from the darkened sky outside Tomo's bedroom window. The girl casually got into her bed and shut off her lamp, the clock now showing it was two A.M. She wrapped her covers as tightly around her body as possible, and took a deep breath. A comfortable smile grew across her mouth as she closed her eyes. The snow was very light, but it was snow nonetheless. This was fairly rare in Tokyo, so it was an exciting thing for Tomo. She hoped that when she woke up the next morning; on January first, New Years Day, that she would would open her curtains to find a white blanket covering her small yard.

Slowly Tomo's breathing became slower, her heart rate following suit. Her final thoughts as she fell into dreamland were of what fun she could have the next day if her wish for snow came true...

_Tomo put on her heavy snow pants and jacket, prepared for the day she had planned. She ran out of her bedroom door and opened the closet in the hallway, grabbing her new snowboard and goggles. As she scrambled out the front door, she put on her snow hat. A sight more glorious than she could have ever imagined met her eyes. All around were giant mountains of snow, some covering buildings entirely. Her front door had strangely met with the top of a giant mound at least two hundred yards taller than her normal front yard. She looked down at the tiny streets below, elation swelling in her chest. The powder was very light, light enough to sink right through, yet she had no problem staying completely above it._

_Tomo sat down and strapped her snowboard on, grinning more and more with each passing minute. Finally, she was ready. The energetic girl stood up and slid herself up to the edge of the massive hill. She gradually leaned forward and screamed for joy as she started down the bank. Her speed picked up very quickly, the descent almost vertical. It seemed to take much longer than she would have thought to get to the bottom, but when she did, Tomo was soaring. She edged herself to the left and started going up a much smaller mound of snow that was about to become a jump The incline did nothing to slow the girl down as she went up and launched off of the very top. Gravity seemed to have no effect on her, Tomo rising higher and higher into the air, now gaining on the height her house was at. _

_Tomo flew across Tokyo looking at everything below as if she was in a helicopter. Most of the city was covered in its entirety by snow, but a few buildings and places had next to none. Finally she spotted her other friends near her old high school and magically began to descend toward their position. She landed on a small bank at over seventy five miles an hour, yet stopped ten feet from her landing spot. Her snowboard unlatched from her feet, and she stepped out of it to greet the others._

"_Hey Yomi, what're you guys up to?" Tomo said, announcing her presence. They all looked at her and waved merrily._

"_Oh, we were just about to start a giant snowball fight, but we couldn't seem to find anyone to be on my team who could compete with Sakaki. Everyone wants to be on her team because she's so good. But now that you're here, it's perfect," Yomi explained._

"_Yeah, sure. I'll join, but I think it's a bit unfair. I mean, I am pretty good."_

"_Hey, Sakaki, Chiyo, Osaka, and I can take you! Don't worry about our team," Kagura said triumphantly flexing her arm._

"_Alright, if that's your choice," Tomo shot back._

_The two teams walked away from each other to begin, now finding themselves in an endless, flat field of snow. "Aaaand GO!" Kagura shouted, digging her hands into the ground to pick up a snowball._

"_Yomi! I'll hold them off, while you build us a fort!" Tomo shouted, now taking fire from all four girls on the other side. She dodged the snow like it was nothing, laughing all the way. A couple seconds later she looked back to find a massive castle made of snow behind her._

"_I'm done, now get in here," Yomi beckoned to her teammate. Tomo nodded and ran through the fully functional drawbridge, made entirely of white powder. They shut it behind them, and Tomo looked around. There were countless auto-loading cannons peaking over the walls from inside, out toward the enemy. She ran up to the console that controlled them all, and pressed the fire button. Each of the cannons made a loud bang as bowling ball sized snowballs fired from their mouths. Tomo could hear chaos ensuing from outside the castle walls, and she decided to take a peek at what was happening. __She ran up to a nearby window hole and glanced out._

_Back where she had left the others, there was now another castle, though it was much less grand. One of the walls had been taken down by her cannon fire, and the others were struggling to rebuild. Tomo gave a great laugh, but it was cut short by a voice echoing loudly from outside. "Hey Tomo, that's unfair. You're cheating! I'm gonna even things out and join the other team," ZaXo announced. "Haru, Seijin, Kaorin, and Emi are joining us too!" he continued._

"_Go ahead and help them. You're still gonna lose!"_

_Tomo took another look back out the window and noticed that the other castle was growing quickly. It was now sitting on a massive hill of snow above them, much bigger than hers. She grew nervous for a second, but it was instantly dispelled as she hatched an idea. "Yomi, man the fort while I sneak in the enemy base and take care of things from the inside."_

"_Yes sir!" Yomi responded, saluting Tomo before the wildcat went sprinting down a nearby corridor._

_Tomo opened a hatch that was in the floor of her fort, revealing a secret passage. She jumped inside and began running down the dark, inclining, underground path, which headed straight toward the other fort. When she finally met with the stairs leading up to the enemy base, she opened the door slowly, making sure nobody else was around. As luck would have it, the doorway lead to a storage room that was completely empty. Tomo slid through the door, and walked out into the hallway. This castle seemed to have the same type of layout as hers, so she immediately knew where she was going._

_Tomo sneaked up to the nearest corner to find Chiyo-Chan and ZaXo guarding the path. They weren't looking her way, so she took the only chance past that she saw. Grabbing snow from the floor, she aimed a snowball carefully at the powder chandelier that hung above the two guards. She threw it and hit her target perfectly. The chandelier fell from it's hanging spot and buried her enemies in powder, leaving the path open. Tomo ran past the pile of snow and continued until she got to the central control room for the castle. She went through to doorway to find herself face to face with Sakaki and Kagura both._

"_It's about time," Sakaki said in a deep menacing voice before laughing maniacally. She had on a captains uniform and an eye-patch, a cane in her left hand, and a big, bushy mustache just under her nose. Kagura meanwhile was wearing all black, crouched down in a ready position. "Take her down," Sakaki ordered, and Kagura silently nodded._

_Tomo readied herself as Kagura smiled and grabbed some snow. She suddenly started flinging the snowballs as fast as bullets, Tomo dodging them with little difficulty. As she did a courageous but risky spin move around one of her attacker's throws, she saw an opening. Tomo bent over slightly while spinning, scooping a perfect ball of snow into her hand and throwing it like lighting. It hit Kagura square in the gut, and she fell down with a gasp of defeat. "You're next!" Tomo shouted, wasting no time in grabbing another snowball and tossing it at Sakaki. The tall girl dodged around it like it was nothing, much to Tomo's surprise._

"_Silly Tomo. I am so fast that I can even dodge light if I choose to do so. Do you really think that your petty attacks can defeat me?" Sakaki asked, giving a hearty laugh, and petting her mustache with her finger. Tomo then felt multiple hits all across her body, though she never once saw her opponent make a move. "You see? Now why don't you give up Tomo. You can't win," Sakaki explained to her now downed opponent._

"_Wow, I didn't see that coming at all!" Tomo coughed, gasping for air as she attempted to stand up again. Sakaki slowly walked over to her, and frowned in pity. Just then she was hit in the face with a ball of snow and stumbled backward. Tomo glanced behind herself to find Yomi standing at the edge of __the room, shaking with adrenaline and fear. She gathered herself as quickly as possible, and ran over and helped her leader up. While Sakaki was still disoriented from the surprise attack, Tomo downed her with at least a dozen more snowballs._

"_Now Tomo, go start the self-destruct!" Yomi yelled. Tomo nodded and ran over to the central console __in the room. She pulled the lever until it broke, and a smooth female voice sounded around her._

"_Self-Destruct initiated. Thirty seconds until detonation. Twenty-nine... twenty-eight... twenty-seven..."_

"_C'mon, we've gotta get out of here!" Tomo shouted to her friend, grabbing her by the hand and running down the hall. They ran until they reached the storage room, but the door to the secret passage was now gone._

"_Nineteen... eighteen... seventeen..." the voice overhead announced, and Tomo began to panic. But once again, her amazing instincts gave her another great idea._

"_Follow me!" she ordered Yomi, racing back out of the door toward the front of the castle. As they ran, the rest of the enemy team turned a corner, and began chasing after them._

"_Twelve... eleven... ten..." the voice continued as they reached the central chamber. "Nine... eight... seven..." Tomo grabber her snowboard, which was leaning on the cannon firing console, and continued to run full speed toward the castle wall._

"_What are we doing?" Yomi yelled from behind._

"_Just follow my lead!" Tomo stated quickly, and gave a final burst of speed as she neared the front wall._

"_Three... two... one... self-destruct commencing," the voice sounded from above. Tomo braced herself and leaped headfirst into the wall, smashing through to the other side. The sunlight blinded her for a second, but she kept her cool, putting the snowboard under her feet, grabbing Yomi's hand, and beginning to slide down the hill the castle was built on, her friend clinging tightly to her waist. About halfway down the hill, the rumble from the exploding castle caused Tomo to catch an edge, and she started to fall, the snowboard bindings leaving her feet. She and Yomi both span through the air and could see the castle above, a giant wave of snow falling from it. It fell along with them both, and soon Yomi was lost in the haze of white._

_Tomo hit the snow below, the wave above burying her entirely. She lay still for a few seconds before attempting to dig herself out. She dug a couple of feet before breaking the surface with her right hand. She popped her head out and looked around. "I've made it," she told herself quietly. 'But what about Yomi?' she thought. Just then, her friend popped out from the snow not a few yards away._

"_Whew, Yomi we made it! We won!" Tomo triumphantly screamed, and her best friend joined in the celebration._

Tomo woke up to her alarm going off. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock, though she already knew what time it was. "Noon already?" she groaned before remembering what the weather was like before she'd fallen asleep. "Hey, maybe it snowed all night!" she cheered, getting out of bed and leaping over to her window. She slowly opened her curtains as her eyes adjusted to the light. When she could finally see, Tomo was met with a disappointing sight. There seemed to be absolutely no sign of the snow that had been lightly falling the night before.

She then remembered her dream from the night before, and a relaxed smile graced her face. "Hey, at least I got to experience it in a New Years Dream," the young girl settled, giving a chuckle at the thought of Sakaki with an eye-patch and a mustache.

* * *

**Alright, that's it. Please review and tell me what your experience was like with this chapter. Have a great day. Thanks a bunch. Hope you liked :)**


	14. That Secret's Not A Secret

**A big thanks to Aquatic-Idealist, as while I was originally writing this story, he helped me to become a better writer; helping me 'show' the reader what's happening, rather than 'telling' them. **

**From the bottom of my heart, thanks to everyone who's been reading this. It means that I didn't waste my time, and I hope I'm not wasting yours ;)**

**The chapter after this one will be the start of the second year! I was thinking about it and chapter twelve should have come out at new years, lol. That would have been pretty cool, eh?** **All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their amazing and respective owners.** **Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 13: That Secret's Not A Secret**

The cold from the winter months had finally begun to pass, and March had arrived, leaving the plants to grow freely; and that they were. The sky was cloudless as ZaXo walked toward the school with his companions. The cherry blossoms were flourishing, growing bright and strong all around them. Spring had finally opened it's doors, leaving everything beautiful and everyone comfortable. Other than the quite chatter from the people who were walking through the park, there was a calm and relaxing silence surrounding the seasonal change. However, this bliss was quick to be broken as the group exited the park, now face to face with the school.

There was a high pitched whir hidden under a rather noisy rumble coming from nearby, that grew louder by the second, polluting the air with obnoxious sounds. Though some strangers looked around for what was making the noise, ZaXo and the others already knew what it was. They stopped at the sidewalk, refusing to cross the street though the pedestrian signal had just changed to 'Walk'. It was a smart tactic they had picked up, knowing that they would be taking a chance at getting run over if they decided to cross when they heard these sounds in the air. Just as expected, the rumble and whir suddenly got exponentially louder, as a bright red sports car flew around the corner of the street, and accelerated quickly by, not stopping for the traffic light.

The fancy car rocketed down the street, finally swerving quickly, losing grip, and drifting skillfully albeit dangerously into the school parking lot, where it narrowly missed several other cars by just inches. The only one in the group to still gasp at shock after seeing this for the last month was Chiyo-Chan, though Sakaki looked extremely nervous each time. "Yukari's gonna end up crashing if she isn't more careful. I really thought she would calm down after a week or two of having the car, but I guess I was wrong," ZaXo announced to the others when they finally began walking across the street.

"We tried to explain that she always drives like she's running from the police ZaXo. You have to remember, we know her a bit better," Yomi responded.

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"I still can't believe that she was able to buy that car anyway," Kagura told them all. "I mean, I would have figured that most students would've wanted their money back after she practically stole it from them."

"But would you want to ask Yukari for your money back? Better yet, _did_ you ask her for your money back?" ZaXo joked, to which Kagura frowned in defeat.

They all walked into the class, knowing full well that Yukari was most likely going to talk about the car all day again, and how much better it was than Nyamo's. Their teacher however, had yet to enter the room. They all sighed in relief, happy to be able to have a few more minutes to talk about something other than the silly car.

"Hey ZaXo, can you help me answer this question from last night's homework?" Sakaki asked in a bashful tone. ZaXo smiled and walked up to help. It wasn't long before they were distracted by fierce voices coming from the other end of the classroom. It was Osaka and Haru. Nobody knew exactly what, but something had changed between them. They were slowly growing less and less 'into' each other. Today was not their first argument, and it probably wasn't their last. The funny thing was, they didn't seem to fight about anything important. It was always about silly things, like Osaka forgetting to bring herself a jacket when it was cold, or Haru disliking a certain food that Osaka enjoyed. Nonetheless, everyone figured it was only a matter of time before the couple was no more, so the others left it alone to play itself out. After all, was the relationship really worth saving if they were bound to fight about something silly again later?

"Hello my amazing students!" Yukari chimed, walking through the door. She set her things on her desk, and gave them all a big smile. "Today, I want you all to work on more vehicle words and phrases, so as to get you more used to using them in regular conversation. I want you all to write a conversation about a car for you and a partner to recite up at the front of the room. You have the first half of the class to write, and the second half will be used to present. Get to it," she finished, turning to the board and grabbing a dry erase marker.

Yukari began writing words in Japanese, and translating them into English, all relating to her car. She didn't seem to put any words like truck, van, plane, or any other type of vehicle up. She simply used words and phrases that translated to things like 'twin turbo', 'six speed', and 'extremely fast'. ZaXo and the others laughed about this the first two or three days she'd done it, but they had now been using these words for almost a week and a half, which was getting a bit old.

"ZaXo, would you mind being my partner today, and maybe helping me out a bit?" someone said softly next to him. It was Sakaki.

"Of course," he smiled, and they sat down to work. Sakaki was really good at pronunciation, spelling, and remembering translations. However, she was slightly lacking in the grammar department for more difficult English, which he had not noticed the day he'd met her, when the two conversed a bit. So though they had been using the same words for quite a while, she wanted to work on her tenses and word order more.

The whole class separated into groups, hardly any of them working very hard. They were tired of the current writing subject, and had decided to pay little attention. Soon enough, ZaXo and Sakaki stopped too, talking alone amongst themselves about whatever came to mind. It was the first time that ZaXo had ever gotten Sakaki to say much and he had to admit, he liked it a lot. She was very interesting, and had quite a bit more to say than she had ever let him in on. The conversation eventually traveled to music, where ZaXo was most at home. Sakaki seemed fairly knowledgeable about classical, which surprised him a bit.

"So, when did you find out you could sing so well?" he asked her curiously.

"I don't think I'm as amazing as everyone seems to believe," Sakaki started, blushing at the compliment as she always did. "But I was first told that I could sing by my parents when I was about ten. Back when I was younger, I was very shy," she stated pausing for a second. '_And, you aren't shy now?_' ZaXo joked with himself. Sakaki then continued. "Well, I used to never sing during the choir parts of our music class. I would only hum quietly, but the teachers never caught on. One day I got one of the songs we had been singing in class stuck in my head. I sang it in my head all day until I arrived home. I thought my parents weren't there, and decided that I wanted to practice a bit, since I was alone."

"Only, you weren't alone were you?" ZaXo asked rhetorically.

"It turns out that they were only in the back yard, looking at the state of the flowers my mother had just planted a few weeks before. They heard what they called an 'angelic young voice' coming from inside, and wondered who it might have been. When they walked inside, they found me. My father smiled widely and my mother ran over to give me a great hug, tears in her eyes. I rarely spoke to either of them back then, so to see my 'talent' in singing was a great surprise," Sakaki finished, putting a heavily sarcastic tone on the word talent.

"You really are very skilled Sakaki," ZaXo told her truthfully.

"I guess, but I don't think I'm as good as everyone says, that's all. My parents want me to record a couple of songs so that I can hear myself, but I just don't know."

"Hey, you can do that here if you want. I can make you a couple of songs in class, and you can record vocals for them after school Sakaki. And if you want, you can even write your own lyrics for them and shape the melodies and everything. That's what Yomi is beg-" ZaXo began, before cutting himself off. He had just about let Yomi's secret vocal training slip between his lips. His heart began to beat quickly as he thought frantically about what to do.

"What about Yomi?" Sakaki asked nicely. ZaXo wanted to tell her everything, as he was more than certain that Sakaki could keep a secret. But he didn't want to break his promise to Yomi on purpose if he could still save it.

"Uhh," ZaXo stammered, thinking quickly. Then an excuse popped into his head, but it admittedly wasn't a very good one. "That's what Y-yomi is begging me to do," he told his friend, his voice shaking a bit from nerves. "She wants me to try and find a way to record with all the instruments I know how to play by myself, r-rather than just letting other students have the creative direction in my songs."

"Oh, so Yomi has heard some of your songs?" Sakaki asked innocently, though ZaXo was still unsure whether his excuse had worked. "May I hear some of them as well?"

'_Crap!_' ZaXo thought. '_I haven't recorded any songs since I got here that don't have her vocals over it._'

"Well, um, I actually just lost my flash drive, and I had them all on there," he lied quickly.

"Hmm, that's too bad. Well, tell me when you record another, as I would like to hear it if you don't mind," she smiled back, a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes.

"Alright everyone. It's time to see what you have come up with for your conversations," Yukari announced to them all. "How about ZaXo and Sakaki first?"

The duo got up, and went to the front to recite their conversation. Sakaki was once again very quiet, and she didn't say much for the rest of class while the other groups were going. When it was finally over, ZaXo handed in their sheet and walked out of the room with everyone else in tow. They all talked in the hall for a while about a whole bunch of nothing. Osaka and Haru were the only two who hadn't joined in, instead going to their next classes separately. As the rest of them began to split up, Yomi caught ZaXo before he turned to leave.

"Hey ZaXo, I think I've got my lyrics finished for the song that you wrote. Here they are," she said, handing him a piece of paper. "Tell me what you think later today during practice."

"Will do," ZaXo responded slowly, remembering his conversation with Sakaki, and hoping that she had taken what he'd said as the truth.

The day moved on slowly until it was once again time for music practice with Yomi. ZaXo walked in the room, half expecting Sakaki to be waiting with a big grin on her face. She wasn't however, and soon Yomi arrived, ready to get to work. They went to the recording room and set everything up. ZaXo couldn't help but to look over his shoulder for the first couple minutes, but soon settled down. Yomi went into the booth and began singing her lines. Her lyrics had actually been extremely well written, better than ZaXo could ever do, and now she had a decent enough voice to sing them.

ZaXo started the music as usual, and his bespectacled friend began singing. This song was a little more grand than they usually did, so it was a bit louder than normal. Nonetheless, Yomi amazingly got it done in about fifteen minutes. They made their regular 'virgin' copy without vocal effects, and then began editing the vocals with the effects of her choice. A half an hour later, it was all finally done, and they unplugged the headphones to hear it back in full. As they were listening, ZaXo's earlier fears suddenly became reality. Slowly Sakaki opened the door to the studio. She was certainly surprised, which is what Yomi wanted. However, ZaXo knew Yomi wanted her surprise to be a bit later, when she was planning to show everyone.

ZaXo quickly paused the music, to which Yomi looked at him in confusion. She then noticed her other friend standing in the doorway, and began blushing profusely. "Sakaki? W-what are you doing here?"

"Well, I heard the music from outside and decided to see who was making it."

"From all the way outside in the hall?" Yomi asked in shock.

"No. I walked into the music room hoping ZaXo was here, and then I heard it. I wanted to see what he was working on, when I suddenly heard female vocals," Sakaki explained.

"Oh, well I guess you know what I've been doing after school now," Yomi said.

"Yeah, but it's really cool! Is that really you?" Sakaki asked excitedly. Yomi nodded, and asked ZaXo to press play again. He did so, and they all listened to the full song.

When it had finished, Sakaki' praised Yomi's work and then Yomi spoke up herself. "ZaXo did all the instruments and I wrote the lyrics. He has been helping me to sing better for quite a while now."

"ZaXo did all the instruments? But I thought..." Sakaki started in mock confusion.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, but Yomi made me promise not to tell anyone. I had to lie to you. And I didn't really lose any of the other songs either. They all have Yomi in them, so I couldn't show you," he explained.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Yomi wondered aloud..

"I accidentally let our practice sessions slip to Sakaki today. I thought I'd cleaned it up, but I guess not."

Yomi thought for a while before answering. "Well, that's fine. Now she can do a duet with me... of course I'm still not quite as great as she is."

"Why does everyone say that?" Sakaki giggled. Yomi then led here into the recording room and set her up. ZaXo was a bit puzzled at what was going on, but recorded Sakaki's vocals for them regardless. She, as usual, sounded amazing. They overlapped her and Yomi in certain spots, which gave the whole song a strong boost in power. The girls were ecstatic.

As they were leaving, that happiness from their first practice session was once again in the air. Sakaki had indeed been surprised as to how great she really sounded. Yomi told Sakaki to keep this a secret for a while longer. Sakaki however asked if she could tell just one person: Chiyo-Chan. It didn't take much coaxing for Yomi to agree, and when they arrived at the other end of the park, Sakaki stopped at Chiyo's. ZaXo and Yomi both went their separate ways as well.

* * *

Two more weeks passed, and the practice after school was now going better than ever, though it was nearing it's end. ZaXo couldn't teach much else to Yomi, and they were now simply recording new songs together. With Sakaki's knowledge of classical music, she had a lot of input she could give as to where the song direction could go to match Yomi and her voices. Chiyo-Chan was now attending too. This naturally made everyone else very curious as to why four people were now staying after school on the same days of the week. Sakaki and Chiyo said that they were working on English together, but the others didn't seem to be too sure. Therefore, one day as Chiyo was on her way to meet Sakaki and friends for another session, Tomo decided to intervene.

Chiyo was practically skipping down the hall toward the music room in elation, when she was grabbed around the back by Tomo. "Hey Chiyo. I need to talk to you about something. C'mon," Tomo told her smaller friend. Chiyo tried to get away, but the older girl insisted it was important and ended up practically dragging her outside to be interrogated by everyone. Kagura and Kaorin stood outside the school. Clearly they were all looking for answers.

"Wh-what do you guys need?" Chiyo inquired innocently, though she was extremely nervous.

"Oh, we were just a bit curious as to what you, Yomi, ZaXo, and Sakaki were doing today," Tomo stated politely.

"I don't know what Miss Yomi and Mr. ZaXo are doing. I heard that ZaXo is doing music, and I believe Yomi is still doing her Biology Club. Miss Sakaki and I are trying to practice English as we've explained, so if you'll please excuse me, I must be getting to Yukari's classroom."

"Oh, is that so? Well, then how come when I asked Yukari if I could join in with your study time after school, she told me she had no clue what I was talking about?" Kagura replied slyly.

"Well, I... we do it in the library, but I told Miss Sakaki to meet me at Yukari's class," Chiyo stuttered.

"Why were you walking toward the music room?" Tomo interrupted in a menacing tone.

"I-I wanted to s-see what ZaXo was d-doing first," Chiyo lied poorly. Tomo and the others thought for a few seconds before answering.

"Alright," Tomo finally said. "Well, you'd better get going then," she told her small, shaking friend before turning to the others, and ushering them away.

"O-okay then. Goodbye," Chiyo replied, confused as to how she got off so easily. She walked back in the school, and started going slowly back up toward the music room, thinking on what had just happened. When she had finally reached her destination, she was still unsure as to why the others gave up so quickly.

"Hey Chiyo, what took you so long?" ZaXo asked as she popped into the recording studio.

"Oh, I just ran into the others," she stated nervously.

"Hmm, that's cool," he smiled in return.

Just then Tomo burst through the door, frightening an already tense Chiyo. Kagura and Kaorin were right behind her as well. "Aha! You're all doing something in here! I knew it!" Tomo took a second too look around before speaking up again. "...Just what _are_ you doing in here?"

ZaXo looked to Sakaki, who in turn looked at Yomi, who then took a deep breath to answer the question. "ZaXo has been teaching me to sing better. Sakaki and Chiyo have been helping out for the past two weeks. We've been recording songs."

"Yeah right Yomi! You can't sing!" Tomo laughed, believing this all to be a cover up for something else.

"No really. She's gotten pretty good, but I've now taught her about all I can teach. Only practice and professional lessons will make her better," ZaXo added.

"It was supposed to be a surprise, but it seems that everyone has found out anyway," Yomi confessed.

"Y-you mean you're serious? I wanna hear!" Kagura chimed in.

"Are you singing with her Miss Sakaki?" Kaorin asked excitedly. Her 'idol' nodded and Kaorin squealed with joy. "I wanna hear it too!"

"Well, let us finish this song, and we'll show it to you sometime soon," ZaXo told them, trying to usher them out of the room, so he could get to work. Kaorin shot a slightly dirty look at him, clearly wanting to spend more time with Sakaki.

"Alright, but it'd better be pretty damn good!" Tomo said, being the first to walk out the door to everyone's surprise. The other two followed, and the rest of them could finally get back to work. They had Chiyo make sure that Tomo and group weren't waiting right outside, listening in. As expected, they were at first, but soon gave up and left after Yomi scolded them furiously.

When ZaXo and the others finally began walking home after finishing for the day, Yomi seemed to be strangely quiet. "Hey, what's up?" ZaXo asked her.

"I'm just a bit nervous. Everyone's gonna hear what I sound like."

"Don't worry Miss Yomi! You sound great!" Chiyo-Chan announced happily.

* * *

**As I said at the top of this chapter, the second year starts next time, so expect that. It's gonna be something good, and some of you might be pleasantly surprised. I've also explained previously that everything is of course moving faster now. There are still plenty of chapters to go, but the following years will be shorter than this one (as the first one had to introduce everything). But I promise that they will still be a nice size, and the fourth year (instead of three like the anime/manga) will help make up for that. Review please if you would be so kind. Hope you liked :)**


	15. BotB

**Finally, FINALLY, this chapter is done. Cameos are annoying. Fun... but annoying. Anyway, all things Azumanga belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 14: BotB**

ZaXo quietly closed the door to his house, walking to meet the others. A breeze raced through his hair, sending it in all directions, but this didn't really bother him; not today it wouldn't. This was the first day of his second year in college. He smiled at the thought of being in Japan for a whole year. His first day of school seemed like it had only been yesterday. His body tensed up with excitement, only to be relaxed a bit at the thought of his friends. It was comforting to know that he had made real friends in a foreign country. Come to think of it, ZaXo couldn't really see life without them around. He'd never really felt that way about most of his friends prior to this.

After the long walk through the park, ZaXo and the others found themselves in front of the school, their second year about to begin. A fierce rumble hidden under the hiss of a large turbocharger grew quickly behind them as Yukari's car went blazing by behind them, coupled with shrieks of terror from new students. ZaXo glanced around him, coming to realize just how many new students there were. The amount of people actually seemed to have doubled; which was not unexpected. But it was still shocking to see so many people around them, most of the faces riddled with nerves at being new to college. When he voiced this to the others, Chiyo smartly announced that this would happen every year until they graduated. Since they were the first class the school had ever had, the student body was bound to grow until they left, where it would then even out. "Great," Tomo groaned, looking at all of the the first year students, as if she'd be dealing with a bunch of first graders.

Chiyo could read the tone of Tomo's comment and apparently had taken offense because of her own age. They lightly argued all the way up to Yukari's class, which they had first hour this year, as with the previous. Everyone else conversed about how fast their first year had gone by. While it had practically flew by as fast as Yukari's car did every morning, the beginning of Haru and Osaka's relationship seemed to have been ages ago. As they all sat in Yukari's class, the couple was quietly arguing once more, Osaka not putting up much of a fight this time. She usually never did when they argued, as it didn't seem to be in her nature. Still, just the same, nobody really wanted to hear them bicker, one-sided or not. Their relationship had steadily declined in quality over the past few weeks.

"Osaka, you need to quit asking so many questions in class. It's bothering Yukari, and she picks on me when she's angry. Don't you care about me at all?" Haru asked in an aggravated tone. The girl seemed to think it over before responding.

"O'Course I care 'bout ya Haru, but I like ta ask questions. I don't think Yukari minds it too much. I mean, I guess it may make her a little annoyed at times, but I doubt it's ever made her angry. That's how I like ta learn... when I'm payin' attention anyway. But if it frustrates ya that much, I guess I can stop," Osaka replied before adding one small statement to 'finish up'. "I guess I'll just stop learnin' too."

"Geez, don't they _ever_ stop? Why in the world are they fighting over something as stupid as that?" Yomi quietly asked, looking to ZaXo, Seijin, and Sakaki for an answer.

"Don't ask me. I don't understand why it hasn't ended already. They clearly don't actually like each other that much," ZaXo told them, Seijin nodding in agreement.

"I really hope that they break up soon," Sakaki whispered, staring over at the fighting duo. "It hurts me to see people fight like that. They've been going out for quite a while now, but if it doesn't work they shouldn't hurt themselves by continuing the relationship," she wisely added.

Suddenly, silence could be heard over by the couple, which caught the attention of Yomi and the others. Haru and Osaka sat without saying a word to each other for a few seconds. Then as if she was being forced against her will, Osaka stood up and walked over to her other friends, sitting to the left of Sakaki. She looked up to the front of the room in silence for a few seconds before letting out a great wail and bursting into very animated tears.

"What's wrong Osaka?" Sakaki asked in a concerned voice over her friends cries, which echoed across the steadily filling classroom

"Haru an' I broke up!" Osaka bawled, putting her face in her hands.

"It's okay. Things like that happen. If you weren't meant for each other, you shouldn't try to force it. You just need to move on," Seijin shouted over the whines and wails, trying to console her.

"Ya think so?" Osaka whimpered before having another overly extreme fit of tears.

"We know so," ZaXo added, trying to yell over her friend's pain, and still sound comforting.

"Well, I jus' don't know, but I guess I'll give it a try," Osaka agreed before she fell apart again.

"Hey, will you stop your blubbering Osaka? It's giving me a headache," Yukari cut in insensitively, finally arriving in her own classroom.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Ms. Yukari. I'll be quiet," Osaka stammered. Within seconds, her whole disposition changed. She still looked sad, but now the only sign of her crying was the red, wet shape her eyes were in. Haru hadn't really shown much emotion the whole time. Tears ran down his cheeks, but he stood firm with his eyebrows furled and his mouth pursed. ZaXo supposed he was trying to 'be a man' and not show that he was hurt. But it looked more like he was trying not to throw up.

* * *

When the school day got over, the group walked toward the music room, excited to hear Yomi's song in it's finished state. Though it was technically done over a month ago, she made several 'last minute' decisions, forcing everyone to wait to hear what she sounded like. She wanted it all to be perfect, and had worked extremely hard to make it so, looking over every small detail of the song.

There were others in the music room as well. With the school being so full, this was bound to happen. But it didn't bother any of them. Yomi decided that since ZaXo no longer had anything to teach her, she didn't really need to practice at the school anymore. She had shown her song to her parents, and they went out and bought her some decent recording equipment. ZaXo offered to continue making the instrumental parts to her songs, but he didn't need to help with anything else anymore. Now they could actually work together as a team, rather than as teacher and student.

The group, led by Yomi, walked into the recording studio which was surprisingly not being used at the moment. Yomi looked extra nervous, knowing that all those in the previous room could hear her song as well. She popped in her flash drive and loaded up the mp3, tension building in them all. As the song started, the instruments slowly building in the intro, everyone waited with bated breath for the singing. Yomi's vocals sounded, starting softly in the first verse, both the voice and lyrics being completely her own.

_'Another lonely night, thinking about you._

_Tired but still awake, sandman's not come through...'_

The music continued on, finally picking up a bit at the chorus, Yomi's voice also getting stronger.

_'...It's just a dream, I know, I know._

_But just the same, you're safe with me._

_Better than Heaven... _

_Better than Heaven is this dream...'_

The looks on everyone's faces grew wilder, each of those that hadn't heard Yomi's new and improved voice carrying varying expressions. Tomo was unsurprisingly the most shocked, her mouth hanging wide open. The gap between her top and bottom jaw grew until it hit it's max, right as the bridge to the song began.

_'...Because life with you would be,_

_Better than Heaven._

_I dream of you and me,_

_It's better than Heaven._

_I wish you could see,_

_You're better than Heaven...'_

When the song finally ended, silence ensued for about a minute while everyone took it all in. Nobody really knew how to respond. Yomi's face sported an extremely worried look, waiting patiently for a response from someone. Suddenly a couple of first year students burst through the door.

"Hey, who was that? Was that song by one of you?" a girl in the front asked.

"Y-yes, it's mine," Yomi stuttered.

"Really? That was great! You have a good voice. It's kind of different, but really nice," the girl responded. Yomi smiled wide, blushing heavily as the first years left. Finally the others all exploded at once, congratulating her. Tomo was the only one who did otherwise. She just stood frozen, trying her hardest to make sense of what she'd just heard, and who it'd come from.

When everything calmed down to normalcy, it was decided that they should all probably get home. On their way out of the music room, ZaXo saw a poster taped to the door that wasn't there when he had class earlier that day. He took a closer look as he walked up. What was written caused him to stop in his tracks.

_'Battle of the Bands:_

_Do you and some friends play music?_

_Do you think you're good?_

_Want to show the world how it's done?_

_Then join in the HKU BotB (Battle of the Bands)!_

_Special guest: Houkago (After School Teatime)'_

ZaXo reread the poster, a smile breaking over his face. The date was two weeks from today. He turned to the others and stared at each of them as if sizing them up for a fight. "Hey, how many of you know how to play an instrument?"

The group looked around, knowing full well what he wanted.

"I can play a bit of violin," Seijin replied.

"I played the drums once..." Tomo stated monotonously, just trying to be in the conversation.

"I know what yer thinkin' an' you may be surprised to know that I ain't any good at playin' instruments," Osaka added.

"Yeah, me either," Sakaki explained.

"Well, my uncle gave me his old bass guitar for my last birthday, though I've never played it," Kagura announced.

"Perfect," ZaXo grinned. "We should start a band and compete in the Battle of the Bands. You guys can play the instruments you just named, I'll do guitar. Yomi and Sakaki can sing. That is, if you're all up for it. It'll be really cool, and we don't need to continue after the competition's over if you don't want to."

"That'd be fun," Kagura agreed. "I'll do it, though I don't know anything about playing bass."

"That won't be a problem. Most of the bass, drums, and other instruments in Yomi's song are easy. We can play that," ZaXo told them all.

"W-what? Don't I have any say in this?" Yomi shrieked. "What if I said I don't wanna sing? What if I told you I don't want you to use my song?"

"Then I'd know you're lying," ZaXo grinned back before exchanging it with a puppy-dog stare.

Yomi thought for a bit before giving in. "... Oh, fine," she sighed, walking out of the room, cheers erupting behind her.

* * *

The following day, everyone once again met in the music room. Kagura and Tomo arrived early and were attempting to play their respective instruments. So far it sounded like a bunch of noise, particularly Tomo on the drums. Since there were six other bands from HKU competing -two of which were practicing at home-, ZaXo was only able to get the room on Tuesdays. He was able to get use of the main auditorium as well though, allowing them to practice every day.

When everyone was set up, the group attempted to practice Yomi's song. The first few tries ended horribly, Tomo unable to stay on beat. She couldn't stop herself from getting ahead of everyone, her energy level too much for a slower song. The others didn't mind however, the spirit in the room way too high for anyone to care. "This is so fun!" Kagura announced after a half an hour. "You read my mind," Tomo replied.

"You think you've finally got your part down?" ZaXo asked Kagura on their fourth day of practice.

"Yeah, for sure. This is easier than I thought," she responded.

"Only because it's an easy song to play."

Kagura frowned at this statement. "How hard could it be to learn other songs?" she replied.

"You have no idea..." ZaXo mumbled, turning to Tomo. "So how are you doing Tomo? You sound like you're getting a decent rhythm down now."

Tomo was busy attempting to twirl one of her drumsticks, which failed as it flew from her hand and hit her in the head. "Ow!"

"Well, now that I've got your attention Tomo, how well do you th-" ZaXo started.

"Hey Yomi. I've been meaning to ask you. What... or rather, who is your song about anyway?"

"Huh? I just wrote what came into my head. It doesn't really mean anything," Yomi told her friend simply.

* * *

Finally the day had arrived. ZaXo, Yomi, Sakaki, and the others had practiced extremely hard to get Yomi's song nailed down. Today was the day of judgment for them all, but none of them were really worried as they walked into Yukari's room for class. "Hey Tomo," their teacher called from her desk. "You ready to bomb it for everyone else?"

"Whatever! I'm gonna rock the stage like no other drummer ever could!" she retorted angrily. As those two got into it, the rest of them took their seats. News had spread of their practice sessions and how good they had all gotten in such a short time. However, ZaXo suddenly realized with a pang of fear that they hadn't come up with a band name yet. When he expressed his realization to the others, they all started brainstorming for a good name. But as hard as they tried, nothing seemed to come to them.

When they got to lunch and still had no name, the gravity of it all began to set in. "No Osaka, we aren't going to call the band the 'Jiggly Squids'," Kagura fought, as more and more names spilled from Osaka's mind, each stranger than the previous.

"Hey, if it's not too much to ask, can one of you show us to the auditorium? This school is huge!" a young girl suddenly asked the group, leading her own posse of friends. She looked to be somewhere along the age of Chiyo-Chan, everyone else with her looking a few years older than that.

"Yeah, sure we can," Chiyo announced. "My name is Chiyo Mihama. Yours?"

"I'm Ui, this is my older sister Yui, and her friends, Mio, Mugi, Ricchan, and Azusa," the girl replied, pointing to each of the people in order.

ZaXo, Chiyo and the others got up to escort them all to the auditorium, the now massive group of people shrinking into several pairs as they walked down the hallways.

"Hi, I'm Sakaki," ZaXo could hear in front of him, as she introduced herself to the girl named Mio. They seemed to be very similar in both looks and nature, which struck him as odd.

"Yeah, the drums are amazing!" ZaXo heard Tomo shout from behind. He looked to see her speaking to Ricchan, who looked equally enthused about the drums. "That's even stranger than Mio and Sakaki," ZaXo whispered to himself. The group -led by Chiyo and Mugi-, continued on, Ui and ZaXo striking up conversation as well. She was surprisingly mature for her age, and from the sound of it, quite a bit more grown-up than her older sister.

"Well, you see, my sister is part of the guest band that gets to play here. Actually, everyone is... other than me anyway. I'm sort of like the one who keeps them 'in line' when needed," Ui explained.

"Oh, so you guys are Houkago?"

"Yup. I can't wait to see the other bands play."

"That's funny, because we're one of the bands competing," ZaXo told the young girl.

"Really? What's your guys' band name?"

"Um... we haven't found one yet..."

"Oh. Well, I hope you do soon," Ui said politely as they arrived in the auditorium.

"So do I..." he muttered in return.

* * *

"Hey you guys, sorry I'm late!" ZaXo announced a couple of hours later, finally arriving backstage to get ready for the event.

"Ehh, no worries," Kagura responded, trying to tune her bass. "When are we on anyway?"

"Should be in the next half an hour or so. I think we go last," Seijin explained.

"So, where's everyone else?" ZaXo questioned, looking around. The only one here other than him, Seijin, and Kagura was Sakaki.

"Yomi was feeling sick with nerves, so she went to the restroom," Sakaki announced.

"Ooh, that's not good. I hope she's okay. So I'm guessing Tomo went with her in case Yomi needed anything?"

"Nope," Kagura started with a twinge of annoyance in her voice. "She hasn't shown up yet."

"Hey you guys. Are you ready?" someone asked cheerily behind them. It was Chiyo.

"When Yomi get's back and Tomo shows up we should be," ZaXo explained, beginning to tune his guitar. "Hey are those snacks?" he wondered aloud, looking at the tray of food in Chiyo's hands.

The young girl smiled happily. "Yup. Miss Mugi and I made some for everyone." She set the tray down and behind her came Mugi with another. Kagura and ZaXo grabbed a few things and sat down to eat.

"Okay, first up we need... Pretty Oranges," someone called from one end of the backstage area. Some of the students got up and brought their instruments up front to set up. As they did, a positively green Yomi came through from where they left.

"Hey Yomi. You feeling any better?" Kagura asked through the taiyaki pastry she'd shoved in her mouth. The sickened looking girl just whimpered and sat down near them all in silence. "If you want something to eat, Chiyo brought snacks," Kagura added, grabbing another item from the tray. Yomi groaned holding her stomach and turned away. From the stage they could hear cheering as the first band began to play.

Time went by, the other bands slowly leaving them all behind to perform. Everyone just sat patiently waiting for their turn. However, when the fourth band went to go play, and Tomo still wasn't there, they began to get a bit frustrated. "Where is she?" ZaXo asked, though he knew nobody had an answer.

"Don't worry too much. If she's anything like Yui, she'll show up at the last second ready to go," Ricchan said jokingly.

"If she doesn't though, who's gonna fill in?" Seijin interjected.

"What about Chiyo?" Kagura offered.

"W-what? Me? I don't know how to play the drums! I can't do it!"

"Oh, c'mon, sure you can. If Tomo can do it, you can," Kagura responded. Sakaki meanwhile was having a hard time getting the thought of little Chiyo-Chan playing the drums out of her head; in all black with long black hair and thick makeup on, and angry look on her face as she thrashed about on a massive drum kit. Her blushing at this was only noticed by Yomi, who was still feeling a bit too sick to care.

"I guess I could fill in," Ricchan told them. She had heard their song a few times during the bit of practice they'd done earlier that day, and could probably pull it off with ease, so they all decided that this would be their backup plan.

After ten more minutes of tension, it was finally their turn. "Okay, now it's... um, the last band's turn... do you guys have a name?" the person who gathered the bands asked. Shock pierced through them all as they realized that they had yet to come up with a name. "Um we... uhh..." ZaXo started, before looking to the others. "Yomi?" he asked looking to their front-man.

"And the Bandits," Yui interrupted, her face messy from eating a ton of the snacks brought for them.

"What?" everyone inquired, looking at her in confusion.

"Your band name. Yomi and the Bandits," Yui confirmed.

"Alright, that works," the person who had come to get them nodded. "It's time. Yomi and the Bandits, you're up."

"Wait!" Yomi yelled, but it was too late. That was officially their band name.

"I guess we need to go get ready," Seijin told them, getting up and walking out around to the stage with his equipment.

"So I'm guessing you'll need to play with us Ricchan," ZaXo said, when suddenly Tomo burst into the room.

"I'm here!" she yelled. She was covered from head to toe in the strangest collection of clothing any of them had ever seen. Black, white, purple, and every other color under the sun accompanied chains, rips and other 'fashionable' accessories. "I'm ready, I just had to make sure I looked the part," Tomo explained.

"Okay, never mind. I guess Tomo made it... barely," ZaXo grinned, taking his guitar to the stage. Everyone else followed suit, Yomi looking more nervous then any of them had ever seen her. They each set up, and waited patiently for the curtain to rise. Finally the time had come.

"Now, give a warm welcome to our last competing act, 'Yomi and the Bandits' with their song, 'Better Than Heaven!'" the announcer called. The curtains rose, the applause deafening, the lights blinding. Over all the crazy applause, they could hear cheering from Kaorin and Osaka, who were in the crowd for support.

"Yeah! Go Jiggly Squids!" Osaka screamed.

"Go Sakaki!" Kaorin added. The applause died down, so ZaXo signaled for Seijin to start them off. The violin echoed throughout the room, building anticipation with each passing second. Finally ZaXo came in with the opening guitar riff, Kagura's bass guitar complimenting it perfectly. Then Sakaki's 'ooh, and ahh' backing vocals entered. After what seemed like minutes, the fifteen second intro was over, and it was time for Tomo's drums to join the rest of them. Now all that was left was Yomi's vocals. ZaXo was worried that she might be too frightened to sing. Three... two... one... the time had come... and she did it.

As if she was born to do it, Yomi belted out the first lyrics to her song, the whole band complimenting her vocals flawlessly.

_"Another lonely night, thinking about you._

_Tired but still awake, sandman's not come through..."_

The song seemed to take forever, but at the same time, it felt like it was over just as it had begun. The last fading violin melody in the outro was accompanied by roaring applause. Whistles and cheers erupted from the crowd, leaving their ears ringing as they bowed and walked offstage.

"That was amazing!" Kagura cheered, setting her bass guitar down. Instantly everyone began talking about how great it was. At that point it didn't matter whether they won or not... though ZaXo was sure that it never really had. After five more minutes, the winner was about to be announced. Each of the competing bands walked out and stood on stage.

"So, now it's time to crown our big winners. Who will be getting the first ever HKU Battle of the Bands trophy? And our winners by a slim margin are... Pretty Oranges!"

Cheers came from the crowd as each of the members of Pretty Oranges received a trophy. The rest of the bands shook hands with them and walked off stage. Just as ZaXo had thought, nobody in Yomi and the Bandits seemed to notice -much less cared- that they'd lost.

* * *

**Epilogue:**

"Have fun out there," ZaXo told the members of Houkago as they left for the stage. Four minutes later, him and the rest of them were in the crowd, ready to watch a master group at work.

"And now for our special guest band, 'Houkago: After School Teatime'!"

ZaXo and the others cheered along with the rest of the crowd as their new friends from Sakura High School began their first of several songs. Their ability to play was great, almost as if they'd been born to do music.

ZaXo looked around at the others to see what they thought of the music, and was met with a strange surprise. Haru and Osaka were chatting with each other almost as if they'd never broken up. He could tell that they weren't back together by the way they were talking to each other. But it was nice to know that they had gotten over their rough feelings in such a short time.

* * *

**Yay, this took so long to write. It's all K-On!'s fault. But I forgive them :D**

**Anyway, as usual, everything K-On! belongs to their respective owners. If you haven't seen it, check it out. Most anyone who likes Azu is guaranteed to like it as well, especially if you enjoy music and great animation. Speaking of music, don't worry. I know I've added a lot of music related stuff to this, but this is the last chapter that's gonna be based on that. I may speak of music stuff here and there, but it's getting toned down from here on out. Hope you liked :)**


	16. Unpaid Quality Time

**Here's another chapter. Very strange how it turned out. Not at all how I expected it to be. But I think it turned out better than I figured it would. As usual, all things Azumanga belong to their respective owners. Happy reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Unpaid Quality Time**

"Hey you guys! How are we all doing this fine Friday evening?" Tomo shouted in her regular, upbeat voice as she met the group a couple of hours after school. ZaXo, Yomi, Sakaki, and Kagura were standing in front of his house, too busy talking about the great time they were about to have to hear Tomo's initial statement. "Hello... hey is anyone gonna say anything to me?" Tomo growled.

"Oh sorry Tomo. Didn't notice you there. Are you ready?" Yomi finally answered sincerely.

"Yes I actually am," the rambunctious girl said triumphantly.

"Then I guess let's get going," Yomi told them all. She started walking toward their destination, and though the rest of them weren't really paying attention, they followed suit as if their legs were on autopilot. Sakaki was the first to break out of the conversational daze, realizing that she still had her school bag strapped to her back.

"I forgot to take it home after I left Chiyo-Chan's house," she explained to the others after bringing her situation to their attention.

"Hey, I'll run back and put your things at my house if you want me to. You can just pick them up afterward," ZaXo offered, to which the tall girl agreed. Grabbing the bag from her hand, ZaXo's legs turned and began to make quick strides back toward his home. Within a minute he had returned, slightly out of breath as he had run back to the others.

"Okay, _now_ we're ready," he announced, and they continued on. Looking up into the sky as they walked, he saw the slight orange tinge the world was taking as the sun got closer to closing shop, leaving the moon to do its thing. They had decided to go out today rather than on Saturday because of the weather forecast. The next week starting later that night was supposed to be all rain. However, as of that moment, not a cloud could be seen over the skies of Tokyo.

All of them strode closer and closer to the theater, the group taking up quite a large chunk of the sidewalk. When they reached the entrance, they all made for the money they would be using for tickets. "Oh no..." came an embarrassed sigh from nearby, to ZaXo's left. He looked to see Sakaki's face glowing pink as she looked down at the ground.

"What's up?" Kagura questioned, looking to her troubled friend.

"I forgot that my money was in my bag... with my school things."

"Well we could go back and get it," Yomi offered, before looking at the time. "Oh... or not," she corrected herself, noticing that the movie they came to see was starting in five minutes.

"Don't worry about it. Go ahead and watch it without me. It's no problem," Sakaki replied.

"What? No way. You don't need to leave. I'll pay for you," ZaXo told her, smiling.

"I couldn't ask you to do that. Don't worry, it's no big deal."

"I insist. It was partially my fault for not asking if you needed anything out of the bag anyway."

"Well..." Sakaki started.

"I won't watch this movie without you," ZaXo started, giving her the best puppy dog eyes he could. "And I'm sure it's the same with everyone else."

The others murmured in agreement and Sakaki finally caved, feeling a bit better about the whole thing. After getting their tickets they all went to quickly grab snacks before the movie began. ZaXo offered to buy some for Sakaki, to which she adamantly refused, not wanting to encumber his wallet any more than she already had.

The door to theater four slowly opened with the push of ZaXo's arm. Everyone's eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the low lighting. Many people were already seated, speaking quietly in anticipation of the beginning of the movie. Noticing that half of the fifth row was still empty, the group strode single-file into the seats. Tomo sat on the end, Yomi and Sakaki between her and Kagura. ZaXo sat on Kagura's other side. The lights finally completely shut off as the previews for other movies began to roll by on the giant screen. The audio boomed from all around as an explosive preview for an action movie appeared on screen. Following this was film from an unfinished romantic comedy that was due out in a couple of months.

Silence ensued for a few seconds before the opening music for the feature film slowly began fading in. Text flew on and off of a black background showing who was involved in making the movie. In between the appearance of each name flashed a few seconds of the film, loud, heavy action bleeding from each clip. Suddenly the name of the movie came up in a fancy font. A booming crash cymbal; then silence. A new scene slowly faded in with a man waking up in a hospital, several bandaged wounds on his body. "Ooh, look at that!" Kagura whispered to ZaXo, her eyes already completely ensnared by the movie.

"...Yeah," he whispered back, kindly acknowledging that they were in fact watching the same movie.

"Awesome!" she said a little louder, five minutes later as two men bust through the door of a house and began trashing the place. "Isn't this great?"

"Mm-hmm," ZaXo answered quietly in slight annoyance. Not more than a minute later she commented on yet another scene... and another, and another. Throughout the whole movie, Kagura announced her happiness and displeasure pertaining to any scene she deemed special. And in between this were near constant gasps of disbelief or grinning whispers of 'See, I told you that would happen.'

When all was said and done, the five friends walked out of theater four and back to the main lobby. Looking out of the doors they could see that the sun had long since gone down, streetlights replacing the lack of light. The clouds were finally starting to form above, hinting that they were probably in for a wet week. "So what did you guys think?" Yomi asked as she stepped out onto the sidewalk and into the fresh air.

"Meh, it was alright I guess," Tomo shrugged in a neutral tone.

"Couldn't agree more," Yomi added, waiting for the others to answer.

"Too much violence for me," Sakaki replied.

"That was the most amazing movie I've ever seen!" Kagura shouted in elation, much to the disagreement of the others. Everyone then looked to ZaXo.

"Me? I, uh, though it was okay. Nothing special," he lied. In actuality he hadn't been able to concentrate on the movie, Kagura's constant comments distracting him the whole way through. They began walking back toward the general area where they all lived, Yomi and Tomo arguing with Kagura on how great the film actually was. For once, those two were on the same side rather than fighting with each other. Sakaki on the other hand spent the whole time telling ZaXo about the parts that she thought were too much for her. He simply nodded in agreement without saying anything, not really knowing what she was talking about. He felt a pang of frustration, being unable to talk to Sakaki at a time when she was speaking so openly.

All of a sudden, ZaXo remembered that he would have more time for that from now on, raising his spirits. "Hey Sakaki," he began when she seemed to have finished her mellow ranting. "I just remembered that we have that Pet Place volunteering to do for a while. It's each Sunday right?"

"Yeah, I can't wait," came her reply, which was filled with energy and excitement.

"So do you wanna meet up and go together then?" ZaXo inquired with equal enthusiasm, though not for the same reasons as his raven haired friend. He was just happy to be able to spend time getting to know who she really was. As far as most of her friends were concerned, Sakaki was a mystery. They knew the basics about her life of course, but she seemed to keep most everything else quiet.

"Sure, we can meet up at your house in the mornings," she agreed. "Well this is my turn," Sakaki announced. "I guess I'll see you Sunday morning. Oh, and thanks for, you know, paying for me tonight and everything," she finished, smiling.

"Any time," ZaXo replied truthfully. Everyone said goodbye to Sakaki and continued walking. As the minutes went by, their ranks thinned even further, until only ZaXo and Kagura were left. She spent that time explaining why she thought the movie they'd seen was spectacular, though ZaXo wasn't really listening. As they were nearing ZaXo's house, he heard a low rumble coming up from the intersection ahead. A red car pulled up to the stop sign before backfiring and stalling. They could hear muffled arguing coming from the front seats, while the car was started back up.

As the vehicle turned in their direction, ZaXo now noticed that the car was Yukari's, the whir of the turbo unmistakable. However, it couldn't have been Yukari driving; the driver being fairly bad at using a manual transmission... and they were actually attempting to follow the traffic laws. "Hey Yukari is that you?" Kagura yelled at the vehicle. It came to a halt next to her and ZaXo, backfiring and stalling once more. The surprise of the sudden noise caused them both to wince, stumbling away from the car.

After opening their eyes and regaining some sense of hearing, they came to find a drunken Yukari hanging out of the passenger window. "Hay you guys. How're ya doon this fhablulus night?" she spoke, her voice as slurred as her movements.

"Sorry, she's a little out of it right now. Too much to drink," Nyamo rhetorically explained.

"I am not outa it. I'm jusd a liddle buzzhed," Yukari snapped before beginning to giggle uncontrollably.

"We just went to see that new movie-" Kagura began in excitement, but was cut off by Nyamo.

"Sorry, but I've got to get her home," she told the both of them, starting the car once more.

"I'm kinda tiurd," Yukari told her chauffeur, relaxing back in her seat and leaning it all the way back.

"You are not going to sleep Yukari! You know what happens when you're drunk and you sleep!" Nyamo shrieked. She put the car back in the appropriate gear and started to drive off.

"Buy you guysh," Yukari giggled in her seat. The car gave another backfire as they drove away. "Hey Nyamo, quid it. Aym tryin ta shleep here!" Yukari yelled drunkenly before the car turned the corner.

"Whew, wouldn't wanna be Nyamo right now," ZaXo told Kagura when the car finally left their view.

"Better her than Yukari," Kagura shuddered, and they walked the rest of the way to ZaXo's house before saying their goodbyes and splitting off for the night.

* * *

"_Hey Sakaki, are you ready to go make some animals happy?" ZaXo asked his companion._

"_Yeah, let's go!" she answered delightedly._

"_I'll race you," ZaXo offered, sprinting off. Sakaki went chasing after him, neither of them really trying too hard to win, instead just trying to have fun. They turned the next corner, and there it was... Pet Place Palace. The massive building was at least as big as Tokyo, and went up past the clouds, all the way into space. Up at the entrance there were two guards, wearing samurai armor and holding plastic katanas at their sides._

_As ZaXo and Sakaki walked up, the guards opened the doors and bowed, welcoming them in as honored guests. Up close they seemed strange. There was something familiar about them, but Sakaki couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. The inside of the Palace was magnificent, covered in marble, gold, and crystal. Cats were everywhere, sliding through massive tunnels, playing in pools, frolicking in flowerbeds; the sight was a lot to take in. "This way please," someone said from the bottom of a grand staircase in the center of the endless room. The person was very short, a yellow cat costume covering his person. He had a big handlebar mustache and royal clothing over the costume, which Sakaki thought must have been extremely warm to wear all day._

_The man in the cat suit led them up to an elevator, two more guards at the entrance. The doors opened and they were escorted inside. "Isn't this great?" ZaXo asked, jumping up and down in delight. The rear of the elevator was glass, showing them going up higher and higher, a magnificent view of the city on the outside of the window. Up and up they climbed, going faster by the second. "Please hold on to the bar on the wall," their escort said, "and prepare to leave the atmosphere."_

_So they did, and so did it happen. "Wow..." Sakaki marveled, amazed at the view of Earth below. The elevator slowed to a halt, and they heard a ding from above._

"_Here we are."_

_The doors opened into a giant throne room, hundreds of guards standing at the ready on either side of a gigantic red carpet. These guards however weren't wearing any armor like the others. ZaXo and Sakaki walked out into the room and followed the path set for them, looking toward a seemingly empty desk at least a hundred yards ahead. Sakaki glanced at the guards and it finally donned on her where she'd seen them before. They were all wearing costumes that looked just like Chiyo's father... Chiyo-ChiChi. Or were they costumes? They looked pretty real, which gave the tall girl a shudder._

"_How are we today?" came a booming voice from just in front of them. Sakaki hadn't even noticed that they were already standing at the desk. "I see you've met my adviser," the voice continued, speaking of the escort with the handlebar mustache. Sakaki looked up to see another of Chiyo's fathers in front of her. However, his yellow color was much more vivid than the rest, and he was much bigger than even Sakaki herself. ChiChi rose up into the air and sat on the edge of his desk closest to his volunteers. In his hands was Maya, purring happily as ChiChi pet him._

"_You have both come here to make the world a better place for all animals... correct?" came the booming voice once more._

"_Yes we have, and might I just say, I can't wait!" ZaXo yelled in delight._

"_That is exactly the enthusiasm that we're looking for," ChiChi acknowledged. "And what about you?" he asked, looking to Sakaki._

"_Y-yes sir. I'm ready too s-sir," she answered hesitantly._

"_You'll do... but only just," he frowned. "So then, you should know that this is exactly our mission. We want to make the world a better place for animals, one cat- er, one ANIMAL at a time. We want to give them safe places to live; food, drink, everything a cat would need. We want to give them the things that __dogs neglect, the things they waste. No cat deserves to dine alone, and no dog deserves to dine at all. The feast is for our eyes only, and our eyes are hungry, would you not agree?" ChiChi asked, but didn't wait for any answers._

"_We want to save the planet, make a life on Mars, and eventually take Pluto from the Plutonians who do not deserve to live in their icy wonderland. Take what rightfully belongs to cats and cats only. You need to give everything you have, and hand the rewards you reap to me and all of cat-dom. We need to wiggle the waggle and nibble some kibble, d'you get what I'm saying?"_

"_Yeah, that makes perfect sense!" ZaXo screamed, pumping his fist in the air. "He's right you know," Chiyo-Chan agreed, walking out from behind the desk in front of them. She was wearing cat ears and had on a plastic cat nose complete with whiskers. ZaXo cheered and they held each others hands, then beginning to skip in circles together. _

"_Umm, but sir, I thought we were trying to make the world better off for all animals. Wouldn't it make sense if you gave some of your apparent riches to help them, as well as other cats?" Sakaki inquired timidly._

"_What? Am I not a cat? Do I not look like a cat to you? Don't I deserve some reward for what accomplishments we make here?"_

"_Well, sure, but as a cat yourself..." Sakaki started, thinking fast ",wouldn't it make sense if you helped your own kind out a bit rather than keeping it all to yourself? You could help your fellow cats a lot that way."_

"_Excuse me? Do I look like a cat to you? Do I smell like a cat? What in the world makes you think that I am a cat as you are so inclined to believe?" ChiChi roared, the entirety of his large body turning bright red._

"_Sorry, sir," Sakaki apologized._

"_Sorry for what my dear?" ChiChi asked, going yellow again._

"_I don't know what she's sorry for, but I'm sorry for this!" came a deep, gruff voice from behind. In a tornado of white, the guards in the massive room were being thrown from their stations, an unknown force making utter fools of them._

"_Who?" ChiChi roared. Up came the white whirl, finally stopping ten feet from them all. It was Tadakichi._

"_I am here to stop your evil reign!" the dog roared, carrying dual blades._

"_You may try, but success will be mine in the end. Chiyo-Chan... end this poor mutt."_

"_But I can't choose between you or Mr. Tadakichi, father," the young girl admitted._

"_What is going on?" Sakaki breathed in confusion as ChiChi pulled out a spear and leaped over them at Tadakichi._

Sakaki's eyes opened quickly, her heart beating hard. Mayas eyes opened much slower. Seated at the end of her bed, he looked around to see what had awoken his owner in the middle of the night. "Just..." she started, laying back down. Maya got up and stretched before curling up in Sakaki's arms. "Just a dream," she whispered to herself, closing her eyes once more.

* * *

"Hey Sakaki, are you ready to go make some animals happy?" ZaXo asked his companion as she arrived at his house in the morning.

"Yeah, let's..." she started, deja-vu hitting her hard.

"Is everything okay Sakaki?" ZaXo asked politely.

"Oh, yeah. Let's go," Sakaki answered, ignoring the awkward feeling telling her that she'd done this before.

"I'll race you," ZaXo offered, though he quickly continued speaking rather than running off. "Just kidding. You probably don't wanna do that this early in the morning."

The two walked in near silence until they reached the Pet Place store. ZaXo opened the door, and let Sakaki go ahead. Inside they only saw a desk that was seemingly empty. "Today's volunteers?" a well dressed man with a handlebar mustache asked the two, popping out from behind the desk. ZaXo nodded. "This way please," the man continued, leading them to the back. He was fairly short for an adult; much shorter than either of the two following behind him.

"Here we are," the man began, a big tub and many types of soap all sitting on a giant table in the middle of the room. A hose was slowly filling up the metal tub. He had them sign in and led them over to the tub. "You have both come here to make the world a better place for animals-" he started.

"Yes we have!" Sakaki announced proudly, afraid of getting a reaction like she had in her dream.

"...Good," the man slowly murmured, taken aback. Sakaki's cheeks went pink.

"Today, I would like you two to start with washing. We want to give the strays we find a good cleaning so that they might find good owners. And also, any customer who comes in with a pet for a haircut also gets a free wash. If you need help, don't be afraid to ask," the man smiled, walking out and coming back with a dog a minute later.

"Here we go," ZaXo said, helping the dog up the ramp and onto the table. They got him into the tub and began washing.

"So how has your morning been so far?" ZaXo wondered aloud, waiting with bated breath for a response from his mysterious friend. She simply stared at the dog she was washing for a few seconds before answering.

"...It's been good," Sakaki replied, before falling into a stupor.

"Umm, so," ZaXo began. Now that he had the chance to expose the deepest thoughts of Sakaki, he had no idea what to start with. Finally something popped into his head. "Since you didn't like that movie the other day, I was just wondering what type of movies you do like Sakaki?"

Sakaki snapped out of her daze, answering with the first thing that came to her mind. "Well, not ones like my dream last night, that's for sure," The words had escaped her mouth before she could stop them...

"What was your dream about?" ZaXo asked.

"Oh, nothing," Sakaki started, but it was too late. "I'll tell you later," she told him, hoping he'd forget. The conversation continued on to better places for the next few hours before they were told that their next (and fifteenth) animal was to be one for a paying customer.

In walked little Chiyo with her massive dog, Mr. Tadakichi. "Hey you guys, I thought I'd give you a bit of extra work on your first day," she joked, smiled cheerily. Tadakichi came up to greet Sakaki and ZaXo, then they helped him up onto the table and into the newly refilled tub.

"Perfect timing Chiyo," ZaXo said. "Sakaki was just about to tell me about the dream that she had last night that she was hoping I'd forgotten about." He grinned in her direction, and she gave a little giggle.

"Alright, I guess I have no choice."

Sakaki started explaining the whole thing, leaving out of course the part about ZaXo and Chiyo-Chan skipping merrily together. When she got done, Tadakichi was all finished. With a playful bark he shook hard. Water sprayed everywhere, the dog becoming nothing more than a white, tornado-like whirl of fur for a few seconds.

"But I could never choose between Mr. Tadakichi and the Chiyo-ChiChi doll you gave me," Chiyo-Chan admitted. "They're both just too cute!"

When they were finished drying Tadakichi, the man with the mustache -who they had come to know as Mr. Yamauchi-, told them that they were done for the day. "Don't forget to come back next Sunday. We need all the help we can get," he smiled as they walked out of the front doors and waved goodbye. Luckily they had each brought umbrella's, because just as predicted, it had finally begun raining; a day late, but it was much harder than they thought it would. They walked Chiyo home first, her house being the closest.

"Well, bye you guys! I've gotta get to sleep early tonight. School tomorrow and everything. See you then," Chiyo told them before walking off through the great gate to her house.

"Oh, which reminds me Sakaki. We'd probably better go get your bag from my house. We never picked it up after the movie," ZaXo remembered.

"That's right. It's probably a good idea to grab that," Sakaki agreed, and they left toward ZaXo's house.

While they walked, ZaXo couldn't help but feel that Sakaki was eying him nervously for some reason. He took a second to glance at her and smile, trying to see if anything was wrong. The girl was blushing, her mouth slightly open, as if she was trying to get up the courage to ask him an embarrassing question.

"Umm... ZaXo, w-what's your family like?"

"Oh, that's it?" ZaXo sighed. "I thought you were gonna ask me on a date or something," he joked, letting her know that she was horrible at hiding how uncomfortable she felt for asking such a question. "Well, I don't think we're any different than any other family, on the surface at least. Where should I start?"

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Sakaki inquired, a little more courage in her voice this time.

ZaXo's breath left him for a second, realizing that none of his Japanese companions knew anything about his past; an extremely checkered past that he was trying to leave behind. He took a few seconds to think his answer over. Finally, he found what he felt were the right words, and decided it was time to speak up.

"Well, I used to," he muttered, looking down at his feet. "But I never got to meet either of them."

Sakaki looked astounded by what she'd just heard. She'd been expecting a fairly normal answer, and was beginning to feel really bad for asking any questions in the first place. "I-I'm sorry for bringing it up..."

"Nah, there's no worries, Sakaki," ZaXo told her warmly, before answering her question in more detail. "My brother died only a few hours after he was born, but the doctors couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong. They told my parents that it was most likely just a one-off, so they tried again two years later. They then had my sister; she lived until she was almost five years old, but died from the same problem. My mother was already pregnant with me at the time, as they'd grown to believe that what happened to my brother was indeed just a fluke. Needless to say, my parents were extra careful with me after I was born, as they didn't want to lose _another_ child."

Though there were still many more details, ZaXo just didn't feel like burdening Sakaki with such things at the moment. He took a second to think back to what his sister had looked like. He'd only seen the pictures they had, and the few home videos, but it almost felt like he'd been there with her while she was alive. The young girl had carrot-orange hair, that was up in pigtails most of the time. She was always prancing around in a peppy manner, and his parents would always tell him how smart she was for her age. Sudden realization hit ZaXo, as it donned on him just how similar she was to Chiyo-Chan. They could have practically been twins separated at birth, they were so alike.

Sakaki didn't say a word, still trying to process everything she'd been told. ZaXo finally decided to break the silence, in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit. "But it's not like I was lonely or anything when I was growing up. I had a decent amount of friends, and they gave me plenty of company. My best friend in fact was Japanese-American. His name was Shin Takahiro. His parents immigrated to America around ten years before he was born. He had the most adorable little sister, Rina," ZaXo explained, with a smile and a chuckle.

"Oh, that's neat," Sakaki said softly, listening to his every word. Ten minutes of conversation later they were at ZaXo's front door. The sun was setting behind the dark cloud cover, meaning his parents had probably locked the front door. He reached for his key, but it was nowhere to be found. He searched all of his pockets yet couldn't locate his missing key.

"That's not good. My parents are gonna be angry," he explained, knocking on the door. " It was in my wallet this morning, I know that for sure. I don't know where I could have dropped it."

His parents answered the door, and he told them of his recent discovery. They shrugged it off as not a big deal, assuring him that he'd just left it up in his messy room. Though he disagreed, ZaXo was at least happy that they weren't angry with him. He grabbed Sakaki's bag, and on a lighter note than he'd hit upon a few minutes before, decided to walk her home so he could talk to her a bit more. Sure he had plenty of time to do so each Sunday for quite a while, but a little extra wouldn't hurt.

* * *

**Well, there you go. That's it. For some reason, while I knew what I wanted done here for the volunteer work, whenever I thought of it, a picture of ZaXo and Sakaki digging ditches (or more like trenches) popped into my head. Strange... anyway. Clever readers might have picked up on the similarities between Sakaki's dream and what actually happened during their first day at Pet Place. A lot of the language usage was extremely similar, in an attempt to subliminally connect the two scenes (and brainwash you... mwua ha ha ha!). I hope you liked :)**


	17. Culture Shock

**Hello from beyond the grave... or something (That might have worked better had I finished and posted this around Halloween, lol). Say hello to the new chapter. To be completely honest, his one is okay in the beginning, meh in the middle, and pretty good in the end... or so I think. But it's obviously worth reading because I wrote it (just kidding, geez). Anyway, it's up to you to decide how good or bad it is, so please review if you would. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 16: Culture Shock**

ZaXo and Sakaki once again looked up at the large Pet Place sign, as they stepped through the doorway for their volunteering shifts. This was their eighth Sunday of work, so they had long since gotten used to the whole thing. Recently they had begun taking on both the jobs of washing the animals and cleaning the cages downstairs. ZaXo however, had to take all of the jobs that had to do with cats. Just as they had predicted, none of them were particularly fond of Sakaki. Needless to say, their hands were almost always full. But they still found time to talk. ZaXo had told Sakaki a lot about himself and his life. Whatever she asked, he answered, leaving out precious few details.

At first ZaXo couldn't seem to get Sakaki to open up much more than what was normal for her. But that previous Sunday -right as he was about to give up-, ZaXo got Sakaki to dig a little deeper than normal. For once she didn't try to casually dodge any questions she didn't want to answer. ZaXo figured that she felt bad for asking him so many things and answering nearly none of his own inquiries. She talked a bit about her younger school days, which were mostly quiet and uneventful until high school. Today though, he wanted to talk about her life at home.

"So what are your parents like anyway?" ZaXo wondered aloud, trying to keep their current conversation somewhere that Sakaki felt comfortable.

"They're really great. I couldn't ask for a better mother, and my step-father is really motivational."

"Step-dad? What happened to your real dad?" ZaXo asked before realizing that it might not be somewhere Sakaki wanted to tread. "...If you're okay with telling me, that is," he quickly added, noting that neither of them seemed to have happy stories to tell about their past.

Sakaki stopped what she was doing for a second, and looked up in silence. "He... died when I was eleven," she finally answered in a quiet voice.

"I'm sorry I brought that up. It probably doesn't feel too great to have to remember that," ZaXo apologized. Sakaki smiled softly and turned to look at him.

"Oh, don't worry. It's been a long while since then, and I've come to terms with it. My dad was part of Interpol. He was killed protecting his team during a big crime ring bust. My mother was extremely depressed for quite a long time. But she eventually got better, and three years ago she remarried."

"So, it sounds like you personally handled it well then?"

"That depends on what you consider 'handling it well'," Sakaki began. "You already know that I was shy when I was younger..." she stated, noticing that ZaXo was raising an eyebrow at her. "...kind of like I am now. But there was a period where things were different. That day I told you about, when my parents caught me singing; I was so happy. It was the greatest day of my life, because I'd never seen my parents happier. It seemed to have brought them closer together, though they were really close to begin with."

Sakaki paused before continuing on. "The whole thing kind of opened me up for a while. I talked to more people, and actually made a couple of friends. That year was really the greatest. But then, one month after my eleventh birthday, my father passed on."

ZaXo waited for her to continue, wanting to hear more. After a couple more seconds of silence, she opened her mouth once more. "When I saw my mother as depressed as she was, it made me sad as well. I tried so hard to make it better, but nothing seemed to work. So just as quickly as I'd opened up, I shut myself away from the world again. I got over my father's death, but I could never really get myself to be as social as I was before; even now."

ZaXo could see Sakaki's eyes shining with tears, but she held them back extremely well. He decided not to press any further. The cat in the cage next to the one he was cleaning hissed and swung it's paw at Sakaki as she walked by. "That was also when cats started to react negatively to my presence," she chuckled.

* * *

Sitting on the edge of her bed, Tomo put on her socks. She got up and glanced at her clock. The red digital numbers shown brightly, even with the sunlight from her window shining on them. The number changed not a second later, which meant she had exactly fifteen minutes to meet up with the others. For once she knew she could make that deadline. Tomo felt a slight twinge of pride inside for not sleeping in until the last minute.

The girl stood up and then turned to walk out of her bedroom door. As soon as she took a step out of her doorway, the cellphone on her bedside table rang. She listened for a couple of seconds to the cute jingle she had used as a ringtone. The display said it was Yomi calling, so she answered. "Hey, I'm almost ready," the peppy girl announced right as she put the phone up to her ear.

"What? Well you'd better get out of bed right now, or I'll... wait, what?" Yomi stuttered, taken aback.

"I'm up, and I'm just about to leave. I'll be at your house in like, two minutes."

"Oh. O-okay then... see you in a couple," Yomi muttered, trying to grasp the concept of Tomo actually being on time. Closing the phone and placing it in her pocket, Tomo continued out of her room. She jogged down the stairs and grabbed her shoes at the front door. Turning the knob and pulling the door open, Tomo leapt outside. She was blinded for a split second, before placing her sunglasses over her eyes. She closed the door with her heel, and skipped off of her porch.

Fifteen seconds later, she was in front of Yomi's house, leaning against the wall next to her front door. The door opened, and she greeted her best friend. "So how's your morning so far Yomi?" Tomo asked in a perky tone.

"It's good right now, but you're actually on time..." Yomi explained glancing upward. "I'm just waiting for the sky to fall now. Surely lack of lazy-ness on your part is a sign that the world is ending."

"Whatever," Tomo laughed lightly. "I just really don't want to miss this. Going back is gonna be _so_ fun."

"Yeah, I wonder what kinds of things they're doing this year?"

"Nothing could be as good as what we did back in the day."

"Well, obviously," Yomi responded, and they both giggled, carrying on toward where they were meeting the others.

They joined with everyone else not ten minutes later, Tomo skipping along as she went. "What's with you?" Kagura asked the wildcat, noticing that she wasn't tired and complaining like usual.

"Geez, can't I be excited for today too? Everyone seems to think I'm just a bundle of negativity all the time."

"Trust us, we don't think that about you Tomo... just about you in the morning," ZaXo joked, smiling at her.

"Let's go!" Chiyo suddenly interrupted, matching Tomo's energy levels.

"Yeah, let's go!" Tomo shouted, marching off in front of the group, Chiyo right behind her. Everyone else followed, ZaXo in the back with Seijin and Sakaki. ZaXo had only traveled along this path twice before, and both times were over a year ago. He casually talked with Seijin for a couple of minutes, Sakaki just listening in. Even after the countless conversations they'd had while volunteering, she didn't seem any more open than normal when she was in a group.

"Sakaki, why aren't you more excited? I'd think you'd be at least as excited as the others," ZaXo inquired, everyone in front of them now singing their old high school anthem.

"I'm very excited. I can't wait until we get there," she answered quietly, a smile breaking over her face.

"I see. You just really aren't ever that talkative at all are you?" Seijin replied calmly. "You know, with as little emotion as you show, you'd be great at poker."

"Yeah, unless the cards had cute little animals on them," ZaXo added. Sakaki blushed as expected, but didn't respond. Noticing that the others had stopped singing in front, ZaXo looked ahead.

"We're here!" Tomo shouted, her arms pumping in the air.

"I'd race you inside, but it would be too easy for me," Kagura responded triumphantly, puffing out her chest.

"Not with those boobs weighing you down it wouldn't," Tomo sneered, pushing Kagura and sprinting off.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Kagura yelled, regaining her balance and chasing after her friend.

"Kids..." Emi said, shaking her head.

"Tell me about it," ZaXo agreed, taking a glance in Chiyo-Chan's direction.

"What? I'm not like them! No way, not at all. I'm a mature young lady," the young girl pouted, crossing her arms and looking away in an 'I don't care what you say' sort of way.

"I'm just kidding," he told her, ruffling her hair and stepping ahead of everyone else. "So I finally get to see it huh? I hope everything's as epic as you guys have made it out to be... or _else_," ZaXo warned sarcastically.

"What are you gonna do?" Yomi shot, in an equally sarcastic tone.

"If you guys are exaggerating in the least bit, I'll probably have to start picking on Chiyo-Chan a whole bunch to let out my rage."

"Huh?" the little girl whimpered, a worried look on her face. Everyone gave a good laugh and walked up toward the front doors of the high school, Chiyo still scared that ZaXo wasn't joking.

"Welcome to the Azumanga High School Culture Festival!" came the voice of a young girl at the front doors. She had on a giant smile as she handed them all fliers about her classroom's booth.

"Hmm, they're doing a stuffed animal showcase... and they're selling homemade ones," Yomi said, reading the flier. "What an _original_ idea," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Whadd'ya mean?" ZaXo asked, wondering if this had something to do with her days in school here.

"That was my... I mean, our classroom's idea for our first Culture Fest," Sakaki explained.

"Wha-... we should have known that was your idea!" Yomi said in surprise, wondering why she'd never realized that Sakaki had come up with such a cute idea.

"It was a really good idea though Miss Sakaki. No wonder another class is using it," Chiyo-Chan added.

"Kaorin, Emi, and I would have been good at making those stuffed animals," Haru announced.

"Well, Kaorin actually did go to school here. And she _did_ make some of them, all of which sold better than anyone elses. They were really neat," Sakaki explained, though it looked as if Haru was no longer listening.

"Y-you really think so M-miss Sakaki?" Kaorin smiled. Her eyes lit up as she sighed in delight.

"Of course, they were amazing," a man's voice replied from behind them all.

"Kimura, my man!" Haru said,looking up at the tall teacher, and giving him a thumbs up. Immediately, Kaorin hid behind everyone, her disposition changing like it always did when Kimura was near.

"Daddy, what is that girl scared of?" another voice asked, though this one was much much higher in pitch.

"Oh, is this yer daughter Mr. Kimura?" Osaka wondered nonchalantly, bending down to look at the young girl that was holding his hand. "She's still the spittin' image of Mrs. Kimura."

"Yes, this is my daughter. She wanted to come to the festival, so I took the day off," Kimura wheezed.

"Who's watching your class then?" Yomi replied curiously.

"That would be Ms. Yukari. She insisted that I let her substitute. Nyamo resisted for a while, but eventually gave in, deciding that she could sub for Yukari," he explained in his usual, creepy tone.

"Well, we'll see you around I guess, maybe," Yomi told him, and they all turned to walk away.

When they were finally out of earshot, Kaorin started explaining how little she liked him, as per usual. Tomo and Kagura met up with them at that time, Tomo quickly developing black eye and breathing heavily. Kagura stood just as triumphantly as she had before the two had run off.

"I stumbled and hit myself," Tomo groaned before anyone could ask, rubbing her face tenderly. The subject changed to what exactly happened to her, if only for a few seconds before ZaXo interrupted.

"Umm, were you guys the only ones to do a stuffed animal exhibit when you were here?" he wondered, staring down the hallway ahead.

"Yeah, why?" Tomo asked, looking ahead as well. Nearly three fourths of the signs in front of the classrooms ahead showed that they were doing the same exact thing. "What the? Where do they get off stealing our idea?"

"Well, it's not like that's against any rules or anything," Seijin announced. Every room that they walked by that was doing that type of exhibit was practically a mirror image of the previous ones. It felt like they were endlessly walking past the same two or three rooms.

"Look, that one even has someone in a giant cat suit!" Chiyo told them as they walked past the last door before the stairs.

"I really hope the other floors aren't like this, or coming here was kind of a waste," Yomi complained, Sakaki smiling as if she was in paradise. Luckily for Yomi and the others, the other floors weren't the same thing. The second floor was full of cafe's, the third, a fine mix of everything, with a few random haunted houses and food stands changing things up as well.

When they finally had a mental image of what all was here, the group left back to the second floor. Miruchi and Yuka had to be somewhere on this floor, and Chiyo was adamant that they find them. "I'm not leaving until I can say hello to them," she told them all in an unwavering tone.

After a few minutes of looking, they finally found the two girls inside a cafe in class four. "Miruchi, Yuka!" Chiyo cheered, running up to hug her friends. The rest of them decided to go sit down. Together, they all filled up three tables, leaving one space for Chiyo at the table with ZaXo, Sakaki, and Osaka. Tomo, Haru, Seijin and Yomi were at another table, Kaorin, Emi, and Kagura taking the last. The half empty room had been completely filled with their arrival.

A few minutes after they arrived, Chiyo finally came to sit with them all. Miruchi and Yuka came up with her to get their orders. When they'd jotted everything down, the two girls began speaking with Chiyo again. But in mid conversation, their teacher realized that they weren't serving anyone else, and rushed them away.

"So how do you know them again?" ZaXo asked Chiyo-Chan when the two girls left.

"I used to go to grade school with them."

"You wh-," ZaXo started, before remembering that Chiyo had skipped quite a few grades and was actually still very young. "Right. I always forget about that, because you're so smart Chiyo."

"I'm not any smarter than any one of you guys," she responded in a humble tone, though she took a quick glance at Tomo.

"Well, that may be true, but we're quite a bit older than you. For you to even be near our level is an accomplishment... and I personally think you're possibly far smarter than most of us. Other than Sakaki and Yomi anyway."

"Yeah, Chiyo. Yer tha smartest person I've ever known. Though I ain't spent too much time checkin' ta see how smart everyone I know is," Osaka explained.

Chiyo-Chan continued to deny how intelligent she was for the next five minutes until they all had their orders in hand. Then the subject changed to Osaka's brain power. Nobody thought she was stupid by any means. But nobody had any idea in which areas she was smart, and which she wasn't. It was seemingly random whether she understood something or not. But usually when she did understand, she got it faster and better than anyone.

"So how are you doing in your classes anyway?" ZaXo asked her, trying to understand a bit more.

"Well, my astronomy and astro-mechanics classes're really easy, but I dunno 'bout Ms. Yukari's class. She's the best teacher I ever had, but her lessons're much more difficult than my others."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," ZaXo agreed, though he was more confused than ever before. It was perceived as common knowledge that Yukari's class was by far the easiest; if she liked you. ZaXo finished off his tea, the others at his table almost done as well. They paid, and were soon getting up to leave.

"We're gonna go on ahead I guess," he told everyone at the other tables, who were talking quite a bit more than they were drinking and eating what they'd ordered. Osaka and ZaXo started to lead the group of four out of the classroom, when Chiyo stopped.

"Can you guys wait for a second? I want to go say goodbye to Miruchi and Yuka," the young girl said. But as she turned around to go back inside, Chiyo came to find she was already face to face with them both.

"Why do you wanna say goodbye?" Miruchi started.

"Yeah. You don't want us to come with you for our break?" Yuka added.

"Ooh, that would be wonderful!" Chiyo cheered, smiling wide. Now a group of six, they all began walking back downstairs, Sakaki leading the way.

"Why are we going this way? Isn't everything else on the top floor?" ZaXo asked curiously.

"Well, I think we should go check what's outside," Chiyo announced, as she bunny-hopped down each step, laughing with her younger friends.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Osaka agreed, hopping down a few steps along with Chiyo, before running out of breath and giving up. When they reached the first floor, everyone started toward the front doors, to head out to the grounds. Sakaki however, seemed to have her mind on something else. With every stuffed animal exhibit that went by, she went slower and slower, staring longingly into each room.

"...You wanna check a few of the stuffed animals out Sakaki?" ZaXo finally asked, though he knew the answer already.

"Oh, no thanks," she answered back, taking him by surprise for a split second before he realized that she was lying.

"C'mon, I think it'll be fun," ZaXo told her, forcing himself to say so, even though he didn't really see much fun in it. He knew why she was refusing to do what she really wanted to. He was the same way. He would rather let everyone else do what they wanted, rather than slow them down with his choices. ZaXo knew Sakaki's game, and wasn't about to fall for it.

"Well, okay," the tall girl said, trying hard to keep her voice calm as she elatedly walked into the nearest exhibit.

"We'll catch up," ZaXo told Osaka and the others, following behind Sakaki. Looking around the room, he couldn't help but feel a little creeped out. So many plastic eyes doing what looked like staring at him; it just felt odd. He shuddered as he followed his friend up to the first booth inside the room.

Sakaki's cheeks glowed a deep red, her face simply beaming as she stared at all of the display animals. She spent at least five minutes at every table in the first room. A half an hour later, they were finally on their way to the class next door. At the third table here, ZaXo noticed Sakaki's eyes light up. "What's up?" he asked her, noticing the delight on her face.

"Where did you get this one?" Sakaki asked the girl behind the table, pointing to a small white stuffed circle with what looked like a face and some ears attached to it.

"Oh, that one's mine. It's my favorite stuffed animal ever. My big sister bought it here when she was in school, and then gave it to me."

"Th-that was really nice of her," Sakaki replied, blissful tears in her eyes. "So it's really y-your favorite?"

"Yup, my favorite one in the whole wide world," the girl responded happily

"Thank yo-... I mean, that's really nice. It looks like a very cute dog... or is that the cat?"

"I dunno. My sister couldn't tell me either. She said that the girl she bought it from had made it herself, and had another just like it; though even she couldn't tell them apart," she laughed, Sakaki giggling as well. ZaXo just raised his eyebrow and frowned, wondering what in the world was going on.

The two continued on to the next room, and to his surprise, ZaXo noticed something different in this one. All the way in the back corner, there seemed to be what looked like a game of some sort, though it wasn't getting a whole lot of business.

ZaXo patiently waited as Sakaki looked at all of the other tables in the room. She made little comments on which animals she thought were cute, unable to curb her excitement about where she was. "So is your room full of stuffed animals then?" ZaXo asked as they walked to the next table in line.

"Well, yeah; it's mostly cats," she answered back, clearly not caring to hide anything at the moment. "But I also have one that looks just like Mr. Tadakichi."

"That's cool," ZaXo replied, now right next to the game booth. "So I wonder what this is?" he finally inquired, stepping over to the game, Sakaki following close behind.

"Well," the boy behind the table started, clearly hearing ZaXo's curious comment. "As you can see, I've got a deck of animal cards. Each of them has a different animal on it. You get a minute to name the five cards I randomly pull from the deck. It's as simple as that. If you get one to three of them, you get a small prize of your choice. Four right gets you a big one, and all five will net you the ability to choose from any, big or small. It's only one hundred Yen a try."

"I'll try it then," ZaXo said, handing over the money needed to play. He rubbed his hands together, and breathed deeply, readying himself to begin.

"Aaaaand go," the young boy said, starting the stop watch in his hand.

"Umm, that one is an elephant," ZaXo started, going for the easy ones first.

"Right."

"That's a lion."

"Correct."

"That's a rattle snake."

"Uh-huh."

"This one is an alligator."

"Wrong," the boy told him. "Forty five seconds left."

"Crocodile then," ZaXo responded.

"Yup."

"One more, and you've got them all!" Sakaki whispered in excitement.

"Thirty seconds left.

"Err, uh-oh," ZaXo groaned, looking at the final card. The picture was of a single spotted cat, though it was strangely small for a wild feline.

"Twenty seconds left."

"Is it a... leopard?"

"Nope," answered the boy. "Ten seconds."

"Eh, is it..." ZaXo started, thinking fast as the seconds wound down.

"Five, four, three, two-"

ZaXo then faintly heard Sakaki whisper something in his ear, taking him by surprise. "Is it an Iriomote Cat?" ZaXo swiftly said, relaying her message to the boy.

"Ding, ding, ding! Time's up!" the boy yelled. "That was a close one; but your answer was... correct!"

"Yes!" ZaXo cheered, pumping his fist in the air. He still didn't really know what an Iriomote Cat was, but he felt it looked familiar.

"You can pick from any of the animals we've got here," the boy told him, standing aside to show the whole collection. ZaXo looked at them all before noticing one in particular. Glancing at Sakaki, he saw that she definitely had her eye on the same one.

"I think I'll take that one," ZaXo told the boy, pointing toward one that looked just like the picture on the final card.

"Hmm, that's a great choice. And it's fitting too," the young boy smiled, grabbing the animal from its little stand. "Wow, you guys really know your stuff," the boy chimed, handing ZaXo the stuffed animal. ZaXo immediately turned and then handed it to his friend.

"Here. Just a little something to add to your collection."

"No, I couldn't," Sakaki told him, refusing his offer.

"I insist. You're the one with a room full of them aren't you? I won it just for that reason," ZaXo smiled, reinstating his offer. Sakaki smiled and took the little stuffed animal from his hands, staring intently at it.

"Aww, that's the one I wanted you to win for me daddy," came the voice of a young girl behind them. It was Kimura's daughter, her father at her side.

"Oh, that's too bad. I guess we'll go look to see if any of the other rooms have one," Kimura said, sounding much more like an adult then he ever had before. He almost sounded... normal.

"Here you go," Sakaki spoke up, turning to the young girl and bending down. She held out the stuffed animal and placed it in the little one's arms.

"Really? Thank you so much miss!" the girl cried, tears welling up in her eyes.

"No problem," Sakaki insisted, standing back up straight. Kimura and his daughter walked on to head to the next room, the little girl cuddling her new stuffed animal lovingly.

"That was so nice. Go ahead and pick another one," the boy running the game told her.

"No, I really shouldn't. It's not fair to everyone else," Sakaki started.

"Well, technically you got one right. You knew that was an Iriomote cat, which is by far the hardest card we have. So that's gotta be worth something, right?" he explained, making it clear that he'd seen Sakaki give ZaXo the final answer.

"Yeah, go ahead and pick one," ZaXo urged his friend.

"I guess that I'll take that one then," Sakaki told the boy, pointing toward the smallest one. Down at the very bottom of the display was a tiny neko-koneko that could fit easily into the palm of your hand. The boy grabbed it and handed it over, grinning wide.

"Here you go. See you later," he said, waving goodbye as they walked out of the room.

"Thanks for spending time with me today, even though you didn't want to look at a bunch of stuffed animals," Sakaki told ZaXo as she stepped back into the bustling hallway, holding the miniature neko-koneko up to her chest.

"Who said I didn't want to?" ZaXo responded. Sakaki just looked at him and smirked softly.

* * *

**So that's that. A little filler-ish and not as good as I'd hoped in some aspects, but better in others. Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope You Liked :)**


	18. Hello, My Name Is Kaori

**Ahh, a fresh chapter. Our story is about halfway done :D This one's kind of filler in one sense, kind of important in another, lol. But it should still be interesting. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Hello, My Name Is Kaori**

ZaXo unzipped his hoodie as he walked into the school, everyone else right behind him. He gave a great breath, which clouded in front of him in the cold air at the front doors. As soon as he stepped inside, he could feel the sudden warmth of the school air as it touch his icy cold face. Wiping some of the snowflakes from his jacket, he gave a great shiver from the abrupt change in temperature. "Man, it's just too cold out there," ZaXo exclaimed, while they walked toward Yukari's room.

"Maybe if you bought a new jacket it wouldn't be so bad," Kagura scolded him.

"Yeah, I know. I need new clothing in general. A lot of the things I have now are getting old and worn out."

"Do you not have the money for it?" Sakaki asked in a comforting tone.

"I have the money, I just hate shopping; especially for clothes. Everything is just so overpriced, especially when you realize that they're kind of a necessity. Not to mention, while I don't particularly care about looking stylish or anything, I can never find something I like," ZaXo explained, sighing in frustration. "I dunno. It's just something that I don't really like to do unless I'm doing it for someone else."

"So just pretend that you're buying clothes for a friend or something," Tomo suggested.

ZaXo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, haven't thought of that before." They walked up the last flight of stairs, and a minute later were in Yukari's classroom. Their teacher was already in class, a particularly bummed look on her face. She sighed and blew the bangs out of her eyes, her hands on her chin as she sat at her desk.

"Whatcha up to Ms. Yukari?" Osaka asked, either not noticing, or not caring that her teacher probably wasn't in the best of moods. "Did'ja see that it's snowin' outside?"

Yukari just grunted and continued playing with her bangs, refusing to say anything. "Isn't it great?" Osaka continued, as if her elder had answered with an exciting response.

"Grr! Quiet time Osaka," Yukari growled, still not looking at anyone.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I didn't know ya weren't havin' a good day. Why is that Ms. Yukari?" Osaka rambled on, still as if they were having a happy little conversation.

Yukari finally stopped what she was doing and took a good long, fierce look at the Osakan girl in front of her. Finally she opened her mouth to speak, still stalling a few more seconds before she actually said anything. "I... hate... winter..." she stated simply, in a tone that was just as angry as her expression. "Way too damn cold... and wet. And everyone's way too happy. Like a bunch of little bratty kids... Nyamo..."

"Oh, well that's too bad. Maybe you'll like it next year," Osaka said, ending what she felt was a nice conversation with her favorite teacher, and walking over to her seat.

"I'm worried that our lesson isn't exactly gonna be the most fun today," Yomi muttered sarcastically.

"That's nothing to laugh at. Each time she has a bad day, she ramps the difficulty up a whole ton. What if she's having a really, really horrible day today and we just don't know it? I don't think I can handle that," Kagura started, frowning in worry.

"Well, if you and Tomo would study more when we break up into groups, you wouldn't have to worry so much."

Kagura stood in place for a while, shock on her face. "I guess that's true," she finally mumbled, dragging herself to her seat in defeat. Class went by just as expected, Yukari giving them an extra hard time with words and phrases that even ZaXo was surprised she knew. As per usual, ZaXo, Chiyo, and Sakaki grouped up when it was time, though today they agreed to have someone else to join them as well.

"How are you today Miss Sakaki?" asked a bright eyed Kaorin as she sat down with them all. "I'm glad to be joining your group today!"

They all took a glance over at her regular group of Yomi, Kagura, and Tomo. "Hey, will you to cut it out and study with me?" Yomi asked in frustration.

"Just gimme a second to beat the pants off of her," Kagura told her friend, readying herself to arm wrestle Tomo.

"Pshh, yeah right! You're going down, no doubt about it. I've been practicing," Tomo shot.

"Arm wrestling your little brother hardly counts as practice! Now let's do this," Kagura responded fiercely.

"I'm out of here," Yomi finally announced, getting up and walking away. "Can you believe them?" she asked Sakaki and the others as she sat down at their quickly growing group.

"What can you do? But, hey; they'd be great business competition for each other," ZaXo admitted, getting out the notes he'd scribbled down for the others.

"As long as they stayed clean in their tactics, which is doubtful," Yomi reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. You're probably right," ZaXo laughed. Yomi raised an eyebrow at him and just stared. "Okay, you're _definitely_ right," he corrected himself.

"Umm, can we join your group," came another new voice, in between heavy breaths. They all glanced back to find Tomo standing above them, clearly the loser of their last battle. Kagura was standing directly behind her, both of them pouting to the best of their abilities.

"No," Yomi stated simply, turning back around. The two girls then looked at the next person over, amplifying their sad looks to the extreme.

"...Alright," ZaXo sighed, unable to say anything otherwise. "But you have to work hard, or you'll have to go back to studying on your own again."

(Ten minutes later)

"I'm starting to worry that this group is too big," ZaXo said to nobody in particular, his eyes wide as could be. In front of him, Kaorin was speaking to Sakaki at a hundred miles an hour, about her latest clothing designs. Sakaki refused out of courtesy, to do anything other than listen patiently until her friend was finished. Yomi meanwhile, was trying to break up yet another 'championship bout' between Tomo and Kagura; this time about who could go longer without blinking. Chiyo-Chan was freaking out about how she wasn't getting anything done, and was sure to fail. All of this was going on around ZaXo, who was too stunned to do anything but sit there, mouth agape.

Finally the bell rang, and almost as quickly as the chaos had begun, it all ended, each of them grabbing their stuff and walking toward the door as if they had all been studying hard the entire time. ZaXo was the last person out of the room, everyone else already heading toward their next classes. Suddenly he got an idea. "Kaorin!" he said under his breath, knowing exactly how to solve his clothing problem.

A couple of hours later, school was finally over, and each of them walked toward the entrance, bundling up to prepare for the cold that awaited them on the other side of the front doors. ZaXo looked around fervently for Kaorin, wanting to get this shopping thing over and done with as quickly as possible. Finally he found her, right as he reached the bottom of the steps outside. "Kaorin! Hey, Kaorin!" ZaXo yelled, trying to get her full attention.

The girl in question glanced over his way, a curious look on her face as he ran up to her. "Yes?" she asked ZaXo, Emi walking up from the opposite direction.

"I was just wondering... you're in fashion design, and well, I bet that mean's you're good at clothing shopping right?"

"I guess you could say that," she answered back.

"Well, then do you think you could go shopping for- I mean, _with_ me today if you aren't busy? I was hoping you knew where I could find some good clothing stores."

"Oh yeah, you said that you're kinda bad at that didn't you?" she responded in a perky tone, to which ZaXo nodded. "Do you not like any of the designs I've made or what?" she added in a mock dissatisfied voice.

"...Not for myself... seeing as you only make girls clothing... and I'm kinda a guy."

"Oh, right," she blushed, her joke backfiring. "So what about Haru? He makes guys clothing."

"Uhh, that's not- his stuff isn't really my style," ZaXo explained cautiously.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Of course it does. Have you seen the things he comes up with? They look more fit for a clown than a normal person," Emi said, blatantly admitting what they were all thinking.

"Well, I'm not doing anything, so I don't see why not," Kaorin finally decided, with a great big smile. "Emi, do you wanna come too?"

"Yeah, the more help, the better," ZaXo agreed.

"Well, judging by what you already wear, you need the extra help," Emi laughed.

"Noted," ZaXo grinned, putting a finger through one of the many holes in his hoodie.

"Whew, first I need to get a new jacket," ZaXo announced to the two girls, as they arrived at the mall. He shivered as he stepped inside, now just as irritated by the cold of winter as Yukari had been.

"Ooh, I know exactly where to go for that!" Kaorin cheered, grabbing his arm and rushing him along, Emi not far behind.

"Uhh, I forgot to mention that I don't really wanna spend a lot of money," ZaXo explained as his friend dragged him along behind her. Kaorin didn't acknowledge that he had said anything, and simply continued on her way. '_What did I get myself into?_' he thought worriedly.

"Here we go," Kaorin grinned a minute later, rushing ZaXo into a shop called 'Simply Stylish'.

"This place looks really expensive, Kaorin," ZaXo began, the delighted girl bringing him to a rack of really nice looking jackets.

"What about this one?" she asked him, pulling one out.

"Nah, that's not right. It wouldn't look right on him at all," Emi countered. "This one makes much more sense," she then said, pulling another one out. The girls exchanged thoughts faster than lightening, not letting ZaXo get a single word in. His head began to spin in confusion for a second before he realized something very important; unless what they pulled off the rack was particularly ugly or expensive, he didn't really care. This is what he asked them to accompany him for anyway. Therefore, ZaXo just stood back and relaxed for the next ten minutes while the girls discussed what they thought would work for him.

"Alrighty, try these on," Kaorin told him when she was finally done looking. She handed him approximately ten hangers with jackets on them and stepped back.

"These too," Emi added, giving him at least another six jackets.

"Umm, okay," ZaXo stuttered, his mind racing with thoughts about the prices and styles of the clothing he had in his possession. One by one he put on the jackets, the girls second guessing their decisions more than once. Finally, they reached the end, and still, neither of them could decide on one that was right. "Is there really that much of a difference?" ZaXo asked as they looked at another rack in the store.

"Of course. I mean, it'd be _much_ more important to choose wisely if you were a girl trying to impress or show up other girls who know a thing or two about fashion. But it's still a factor when guy's trying to impress a girl. Style still something that you should take great care to get correct," Emi explained quickly, not skipping a beat in her task of looking through the clothing rack.

"You're trying to impress a girl?" Kaorin asked him, stopping her own search.

"Who said that?" ZaXo replied, chuckling as he shifted his stance and placed his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, this is perfect!" Kaorin announced as she glanced back down at the rack, pulling out a single jacket. She held it up to ZaXo and smiled. "Put it on, because I think this will work perfect."

"Yeah, that _is_ really good," Emi agreed when ZaXo had the jacket on. "But I think it would look better if the other clothes you're wearing weren't so..."

"Bad?" ZaXo laughed, glancing at the price. "Yeah, this is fine. And it'll leave a decent amount of money for upgrading the rest of my 'horrible' attire. So where are we headed to next?" he asked, glancing around the store they were in.

"Well, you've gotta pay for what you're buying here first, silly," Kaorin joked, but ZaXo didn't understand.

"What, you mean we're not getting the other stuff from this store?"

"Of course not. Who gets all of their clothing from one shop? If you want the best prices and choices, you have to shop around," Emi explained to ZaXo, who shrugged simply and walked up to the checkout counter.

Soon they were in another store, called 'Koriko's Klothing', and the same crazy searching began once again. A half an hour later, ZaXo had four new shirts to wear, his wallet now feeling quite a bit lighter. "Now for my favorite shop in the whole world!" Emi announced happily as they rode up to the second floor on one of the escalators.

Indeed, the shop; titled 'Rock Your Socks' fit Emi to a tee. The whole place looked extremely edgy and unique, just like she was. ZaXo was starting to fear that this was actually going to be the most expensive store of them all, and he wasn't mistaken. Nearly everything in it was what he considered far overpriced. When ZaXo explained this to them, Emi shrugged. "If you don't want the best..."

"Alright, but it's gotta be the cheapest stuff in here," he told her, giving in.

"Great," she grinned, and dove right into searching for pants that would work. When they had a few selections, he went into the changing room and tried them all on. "Seriously, those are all really good," Emi explained, when he came out in the final pair of pants they had chosen. "How much money do you have left?"

"Not enough for all of them. I can choose three at most."

"Then go with these ones," Kaorin said, picking out three pairs of pants; which luckily happened to be the cheapest of all of the choices.

ZaXo felt extremely relieved when he had finally paid for everything. He walked out of the store with three new pairs of pants, and for some reason, a pair of socks that Emi insisted would look great. She bought them for him without ZaXo realizing, though he tried to explain that he really only ever wore pants, so his socks would never be seen anyway. The group began walking back toward the nearest escalators, on their way out, when ZaXo got an idea.

"Hey, to thank you both, let me get you something to eat; anything you want to thank you for your help. I still have just enough money left for that."

"No, you really don't have to," Kaorin started, happily waving his offer away.

"I insist. It's not like I have enough money to buy anything else I could use anyway. Please?"

"Alright, but only if you tell us who you're doing all of this for," Emi smirked.

"Nobody," ZaXo explained. "I did this because I've been putting it off for too long. I didn't get these clothes for anyone but me. I just needed help finding the best deals; that's all."

"Sure," Kaorin interjected slyly, as they changed direction and headed to the food court. ZaXo let them get exactly what they wanted to eat, and they all sat down at the nearest table together.

"Why didn't you get anything?" Kaorin asked, beginning her meal.

"Well, I don't really have any money left for that," ZaXo chuckled, opening his now vacant wallet. "But don't say anything about it. I knew that would happen," he stated before they could apologize for using the rest of his money.

The girls ate while the three of them talked amongst themselves for a good ten minutes, when out of the blue, ZaXo saw what he figured was probably one of Kaorin's least favorite people. "Kaorin. Don't look now, but here comes Mr. Kimura's wife."

"Wha- is, is he with her?" she whispered frightfully, lowering her head a bit.

"I don't think so," ZaXo told her, not seeing Kimura anywhere.

"Oh, then that's nothing to worry about," she smiled, turning to look. "Mrs. Kimura!" Kaorin called, out, attracting the woman's attention.

"Oh, hello Kaori," the blissful looking lady said. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing great," Kaorin explained. "So what are you up to?"

"I'm just shopping for a new pair of earrings," Mrs. Kimura told them, still smiling wide. "That lovely husband of mine is planning a date this weekend, and I want to look _extra_ good."

"That's... great," Kaorin half-choked, losing her joyful expression. They both sat in silence for a few seconds before Mrs. Kimura broke it.

"Well, I'd best be going then. See you," she said, waving and walking off, now humming to herself.

When she was out of earshot, ZaXo was the first to speak up. "So I don't get it. You despise Mr. Kimura, but you're friends with Mrs. Kimura? How does that even work? Do you end up in the infirmary a lot or something, and you just happened to befriend her?"

"No. She occasionally drops by our fashion design class to see-," Kaorin stopped, swallowing hard. "-to see him."

"And she's nice enough that you don't mind the fact that she's married to 'him'?"

"Well, yeah. She's a lovely lady. I just think she's a little, um, lost or something. But she seems to really, really like him, so who am I to ruin things by letting her know that I think her husband is horrible?"

"Yeah, I gue-" ZaXo began, but was interrupted by a loud shriek.

"Eeek! Kaorin!" someone yelled from a few feet away. Everyone looked up to see a girl ZaXo had never seen before, running up to their table.

"Chihiro, is that you?" Kaorin yelled in surprise. Jumping up from her seat, and embracing this mystery girl. "Wow, your hair is so long now," Kaorin said, looking her friend over. "And you're so tall."

"You look just as cute as ever Kaorin," Chihiro responded, hugging her friend once more. "Hi... Emi, right?" she continued, looking around the table at her and ZaXo.

"Yup. And you're Chihiro; the girl who came with Kaorin and I to that concert last year, correct?"

"Yessiree; that extremely loud, heavy concert."

"What can I say? I love loud music," Emi laughed.

"Who is this? Is this your boyfriend, Kaorin?" Chihiro inquired, now looking at ZaXo.

"No. We're just helping him shop because he's trying to impress a girl," Kaorin explained, giving a little giggle.

"Again, I ask where you got that idea from?" ZaXo asked fervently, his cheeks growing warm in embarrassment.

"He won't tell us who it is," Kaorin said, turning back to Chihiro.

"That's because there isn't anyone," ZaXo muttered under his breath, though Kaorin and Chihiro were too busy catching up to hear him. The two talked for a good long while about what had been going on since the last time they saw each other; over five months ago.

"Oh, look at the time," Chihiro sighed twenty minutes later, as she glanced at her watch. "I should probably be getting home."

"It was great seeing you again," Kaorin chimed, waving goodbye to her friend.

"Who was she exactly?" ZaXo wondered aloud, as they got up as well, leaving in the opposite direction.

"She used to be my very best friend in the world," Kaorin explained, glancing back, though she could no longer see Chihiro through the crowds of people. "But lately we've been so busy that we haven't really been able to spend much time together. I really wish we could. Maybe we'll have the chance sometime soon," she said, looking upward and smirking.

"Ha! Man, I just _love_ winter! It's the absolute greatest!" someone behind them yelled abruptly, as she sprinted by the three of them in a blur of colors and sound.

"Was that Yukari?" ZaXo asked, Kaorin and Emi too confused to respond.

* * *

**That's the whole chapter (no... really?) Please review if you would be so kind. Hope You Liked :)**


	19. Winter Confessions

**So this is the newest chapter. Didn't really know much of where I was going, but it ended up fairly nice in my opinion. The next chapter should be exciting as well. All things Azumanga belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 18: Winter Confessions**

"Okay, it's been two weeks and Yukari is still acting crazy!" Tomo exclaimed, at exactly halfway through first hour. Everyone had been split into groups since the beginning of class, as Yukari had requested, though none of them really understood why. "She actually has us just hanging out in class? I swear, I've gotta be dreaming."

"Or having a horrible nightmare," Chiyo interjected, looking worried. "Why doesn't she have any work for us? What if she does this more often?"

"Then college is easier than I expected," Tomo answered.

"What if I don't learn proper English? What if I get a great job teaching at a great school, and then an English-speaking foreign exchange student is enrolled in my class? Then I won't be able to talk to her! I'll get fired and be unable to find a job anywhere else! I'll end up living on the streets, begging for food scraps!"

"Chiyo-Chan! Relax..." ZaXo interrupted, placing his hand on her shoulder. "That's not gonna happen."

"But ZaXo, you don't understand. College is the real world! We have to take these things seriously!" Chiyo insisted fervently. ZaXo chuckled heartily, before responding.

"Yup, I guess I wouldn't understand _anything_ about going to college in the real world... you know, after moving to a foreign country and starting all over."

Chiyo's face went red as she apologized under her breath. "Listen silly; you have nothing to worry about. You're easily the best non-native English speaker out of everyone here," ZaXo continued, shooting apologetic looks at everyone else. "You could stop taking this class right now, and be better off than most foreigners in an English speaking country. Not to mention, if you ever need help with English, I can help you, and I'm sure Sakaki and Seijin could too."

"You two are getting off track here," Tomo explained, once again taking over the conversation. "The thing I wanna know is why Yukari's so nice all of a sudden. I mean, one day being a loud, obnoxious pain, and then suddenly becoming a personable, likable human being; that kind of thing doesn't just happen."

"I wish you'd go through that transformation," Yomi shot sarcastically. Tomo ignored the comment and continued on.

"Seriously! She allowed me to hand in a paper that was due over a month ago, stopped calling Chiyo names and picking on her, and beyond all that, she brought in cupcakes for the whole class! Now we don't even have to work in her class? Something crazy is up, and I wanna find out what it is; maybe try to make it permanent."

"Why don't you just ask her what's up then if you're so curious?" Sakaki asked politely.

"You know what? I think I will," Tomo announced, standing up and making for the other end of the room where Yukari was sitting at her desk, humming an upbeat tune and looking at her computer.

"You know, I didn't want to admit it to Tomo, but I kinda wanna know what's going on too," ZaXo confessed, glancing over to where the girl was, now just starting to converse with her teacher.

"Well, who doesn't wanna know? But I'd rather not butt in and possibly ruin a good thing," Kagura responded, flipping her pen between her fingers.

"But you'll let _Tomo_ ruin it for you?" Yomi retorted. Kagura stopped what she was doing, her eyes widening a bit.

"Good point..."

"Well, I already think I know why she's actin' all strange," Osaka started, staring down at a drawing she was making. From ZaXo's point of view, it looked like a poodle with airplane wings attached to its body. "It's obvious that Ms. Yukari has a boyfriend."

The others stared in shock for a few seconds, taking in what Osaka had just said. "Yukari? Have a boyfriend? A guy who could tolerate her? Doubt it," Yomi finally spoke up, reading everyone's minds.

"Yeah. Somehow I don't think that's possible until she grows up a little," ZaXo added, as Tomo came back and sat down next to them all again. She was now holding onto a sheet of paper that she didn't have when she left.

"So, who's her boyfriend?" Osaka asked immediately, taking her eyes off of her artwork and craving an answer.

"She didn't tell me anything," Tomo admitted, defeat in her eyes.

"What did she say then?" Kagura wondered aloud.

"Well..." Tomo started.

"_Hey Ms. Yukari, what'cha looking at?" Tomo called to her teacher, trying to start the conversation off with small talk._

"_It's an e-mail from a friend," Yukari answered, giggling at whatever she had just read on her computer screen. She then clicked her cursor on something, and began writing a response to the e-mail. Yukari gave another, cheerful giggle, typing faster and faster as if a witty idea was just hanging in her mind by a thread._

"_So why're you all of a sudden acting so nice to us?" Tomo suddenly blurted out, quickly giving up on small talk. "Are you hiding some great secret from us?"_

_Yukari's fingers stopped dead on the keyboard, and she looked up from her computer screen, toward the girl trying to probe into her personal life. "I don't have any secrets? What makes you think I'd have a secret?" Her tone was fiercely defensive, her eyes quickly going cold._

"_Oh, c'mon Yukari. We all know something's up," Tomo remarked, continuing to push forward in her quest for knowledge. Yukari just glared for a few seconds. Her hands lifted off of the keyboard she had just been using. She reached for a blank piece of paper, and the nearest red pen she could find._

"_Oh, I get it, you don't want to say it out loud, so you're gonna write it down for me," Tomo winked, smiling in excitement. She waited impatiently while her teacher slowly wrote something on the paper and handed it to her student. Tomo glanced down at the page, confusion replacing her grinning expression. On the sheet, there was simply a big red F with a circle around it. "What's this Yukari?" Tomo asked slowly._

"_That's the grade you're getting on the next test we take," Yukari said simply, and went back to writing her e-mail, giggling happily._

"Seriously?" ZaXo asked, looking around for where Tomo put the paper in question.

"Don't worry. As long as you didn't screw everything up, we won't have to take another test," Kagura announced, leaning back in her seat.

"Well, I guess we shouldn't pry anymore," Sakaki told Tomo, looking slightly disappointed. Clearly she wanted to know what was going on just as much as everyone else.

"Oooooh, no. I'm not giving up that easily," Tomo explained, grinning maliciously.

"Tomo, don't ruin this for us," Yomi told her friend. "Don't you dare ask Yukari about it anymore."

"I don't have to," Tomo replied, rubbing her hands together. Everyone looked at her curiously, waiting for an explanation. "I'm gonna ask Nyamo about it..."

* * *

"Tomo, I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Chiyo cautioned as the two of them were walking down the hallway after school, toward Ms. Kurosawa's office. Tomo ignored the young girl however, only choosing to pick up the pace. She finally got both of her arms in her jacket sleeves, and suddenly took off down the hallway in a sprint. "Um, wait up!" Chiyo cried, quickly falling behind.

"Whoa, watch out crazy," ZaXo joked as Tomo flew by him, almost knocking him over. When Chiyo made it to him, she stopped, completely out of breath. "What's she in such a hurry f-" he started, before realizing he already had the answer. "...Nyamo?"

"Y-yeah," Chiyo gasped, having a difficult time with speaking and breathing at the same time.

"Better go act as damage control," ZaXo decided, running off after Tomo.

"Hey, but... _wait_!" Chiyo-Chan cried, still exhausted. ZaXo jogged through the hallways until he finally arrived at the headmistress's office. The door was halfway closed, and inside he could hear Tomo doing a horrible job of questioning Nyamo.

"So what's Yukari's secret?" she asked fiercely, her elder going completely pink in the face. "Did she inherit a bunch of money from a dead relative? Did she get some kind of 'Teacher of the Year' award? Or... oh! Did she just finally snap?"

Nyamo looked even more worried with each passing question, before finally getting a chance to speak. "W-what? Yukari doesn't have a secret. What would make you t-think that?" she stammered pathetically.

"Seriously, even Tomo's not dim enough to fall for that," ZaXo declared, stepping inside the room. Tomo turned to give him a dirty look, Nyamo glowing ever-more red. "So why don't you just tell us what it _is_ that Yukari is hiding? We both promise... well, I promise I won't say anything if it's that big of a deal."

"Hey!" Tomo shouted, turning red herself. "What's the big idea with all of the jokes about me? D'you think I'm stupid or something, and I won't understand them?"

ZaXo grabbed Tomo by the shoulders and turned her around, so that they were both facing away from Nyamo. "I'm trying to lighten the mood, that's all. Barraging her with questions like you just were will get us nowhere," ZaXo whispered so that Ms. Kurosawa couldn't hear him.

"Oh, I get it," Tomo announced quietly, before turning back around. "You're right ZaXo, I'm just not good at keeping secrets," she said loudly, her voice robotic and scripted. "I guess I'll just wait outside the room while she tells you what's up with Yukari. And Nyamo; I promise that he won't tell me anything," Tomo finished, winking at ZaXo and giving him a thumbs up before leaving the room. ZaXo slapped his palm on his forehead, knowing there was no way to get anything out of Nyamo now.

He casually put his hands in his pockets and pivoted toward the door. But before he could take a step, Nyamo spoke up. "You know, I wouldn't have a problem telling you guys," she began, ZaXo spinning back to face her. "It's not even really a secret or anything. It's just that... it's Yukari you know. And she wouldn't take kindly to me just telling everybody about her personal life."

"But, we're not 'everybody'," ZaXo started, before correcting his statement. "Or at least, they aren't 'everybody'. I understand since I'm the newest of the group and all, why she might not want me to know."

"It's not that. It's just..." Nyamo stopped, trying to think of the right words.

"Yukari threatened you with something horrible didn't she?" ZaXo asked sarcastically. Nyamo however, just looked around the room as if she was avoiding a serious question. "Wait, did she _really_?"

"Maybe just a little," Nyamo stuttered, smiling weakly.

"Got it," ZaXo explained, turning around for the final time. "I completely understand," he finished, waving goodbye, and walking out of the room. Tomo, and Chiyo -who was still out of breath-, were waiting outside for him.

"You're not as good at interrogations as you acted," Tomo pouted sourly.

"So that means you heard?"

"Yeah, we both heard. But I don't care. I'm not giving up," Tomo declared, as they headed for the front doors.

As it was still the middle of winter, a steady, light snow fell from the sky while they joined up with the rest of their friends. Today however, half of them had a different destination. Since it was close to time for the holidays, many of them still had to get gifts for each other. They were all planning on getting together to have a small party of sorts. Though not all of them were part of a religion that celebrated at this time of year, they all felt that any time was a great time to give to those they cared for. So why not during a time when merriment giving was in the air?

Therefore, for the second time this month, ZaXo was headed to the mall in order to shop for things that he was no good at picking out. Accompanying him were Seijin, Osaka, Haru, Kagura, and surprisingly enough, Sakaki; all of which had put it off for the last two weeks. The six of them arrived, and spread out in order to look around. They each had to get a small gift of no more than five hundred Yen. Since that could add up to quite a bit of money, what with nine others to shop for, they could also make their gifts. Unfortunately for everyone who was currently at the mall, there really wasn't any time left to make anything thoughtful enough. So it was silently expected that they were all to meet up at the mall entrance in two hours with bags full of presents, and empty wallets.

The time went by extremely quickly, all of them frantically searching for something unique that would make sense for each of their friends. None of them knew it, but they were all constantly looking over their shoulders, making sure that none of the others were trying to sneak peeks at the gifts they'd selected. Finally, after two hours, they all met back at the front doors, some looking exhausted, others extremely satisfied. ZaXo was one of the latter, surprised at how good of a job he'd thought he'd done. Sakaki and Seijin were among the former, both looking as though they thought they'd failed epically.

"How'd you guys do?" Kagura asked everyone, holding up a full shopping bag of her own. Her question was met with simultaneous groans and sounds of triumph. Everyone got ready to head back into the cold, before stepping outside of the front doors.

After a couple of minutes, most everyone was talking merrily, the thought of whether their gifts were adequate or not thrust into the furthest reaches of their minds. Sakaki, as usual, was extremely quite, though this time she didn't even really seem to want to speak to ZaXo. She had seemed to have grown quite comfortable around him since they had spent so much time volunteering at Pet Place. At this moment however, she was even adamantly attempting to avoid eye contact. ZaXo was curious as to why, but didn't really feel like prying into anyone else's business today. He didn't have much luck with Ms. Kurosawa earlier, and felt it was best not to push his luck further with Sakaki. So they simply walked home in silence, the others still chatting it up happily a few feet ahead.

* * *

The next day, at about four o' clock P.M., ZaXo arrived at Chiyo-Chan's house. She led him into her room, where everyone else was having a great time. Right behind him was Chiyo's mother, with a plate full of freshly baked cookies. "Oh, hello Mrs. Mihama," ZaXo smiled widely. "Here, let me get out of your way."

"You're fine ZaXo," she smiled back, walking past him to set the plate on the table in the center of the room. ZaXo set down his bag of gifts as Tomo rushed over to grab half a dozen cookies, Yomi right behind her.

"It'sh not bad twho indulge yourshelf ebery once in a fwhile," Tomo said through a mouthful of cookie, a purely blissful look in her eyes. Yomi shook her head in agreement, stuffing her face as well. ZaXo walked over, and sat down at the table, where Osaka, Sakaki, and Kagura were playing a game of Go-Fish.

"You guys'll never beat me!" Kagura announced, her statement drenched in her usual competitive spirit. ZaXo and Kaorin sat and watched them play for the next half an hour, before their host, Chiyo, decided it was time to pass out and open their gifts.

Everyone went to go grab the presents they had bought, ZaXo getting Tomo's for her, as she was now nursing a mild stomach ache. Yomi however, looked fine and satisfied, though she had eaten nearly twice as many cookies. When everything was sorted, and everyone had their gifts, they began. Starting with Chiyo, they went around the table, randomly grabbing one of the presents, and saying who it was from before opening it. Chiyo's first gift was from Kaorin, who had made her some stylish slip-covers for her pigtails. Slowly they went down the line, everyone far more than just satisfied with the small gifts they received. When it got to Seijin, he pulled up his gift from ZaXo. They both glanced at each other, ZaXo giving a small chuckle. Seijin unwrapped the gift, which had a small cardboard box inside. He opened the top of it, to find a pair of googly eyed glasses.

"I figured it was about time for you to be a normal person and sleep in Yukari's class every once in a while. These will help, as I don't think she'll be able to notice the difference," ZaXo explained, causing laughter to spring up throughout the room.

Right after that, was ZaXo's turn, after which it started back over with Chiyo-Chan. Chiyo pulled up her gift from Kagura, which was huge. The square package stood about as tall and wide as a basketball, which shocked Chiyo for a few seconds. She slowly tore off the paper to find three books on teaching methods inside. Her eyes lit up as Kagura explained that they were part of a clearance sale, and only cost a hundred and fifty Yen each. As they went around, every gift from Kagura seemed to be much bigger than the rest, and each was in fact under the designated price point.

"You're just good at anything you can turn into a competition aren't you?" Emi asked, to which Kagura puffed out her chest triumphantly.

The line continued until it reached Osaka, who grabbed the gift she got from Haru. She ripped the paper apart fiercely, attempting to get to the item inside. She was delighted to find a brand new shirt inside, which looked to be fairly expensive. Haru confirmed everyone's suspicions after Osaka took a few seconds to look it over. "That shirt cost me twenty-five hundred Yen, but it was worth every cent," he explained.

"Hey, but to make it fair, you weren't supposed to... aw, never mind," ZaXo stopped, realizing that in the end, it didn't matter if someone wanted to spend extra money they had.

The fun continued on and on, until finally it was time for the last gift to be opened. ZaXo lifted his final present to the table. It was from Sakaki. She looked nervously over toward him, though she quickly lowered her gaze when he attempted to give her a smile. The gift was in a small, paper holiday bag, with multi-colored tissue paper filling it to the brim. ZaXo reached his hand inside, and started pulling out the paper until he found the prize inside. It was a card. He looked up at Sakaki, who still refused to look back at him, her cheeks pink with embarrassment.

ZaXo reverted his gaze back toward the card. On the front, Sakaki had drawn what looked like a cat. He had to admit, it wasn't exactly the best work of art that he'd ever seen, but it didn't really matter to him. Somehow, despite the jagged, uneven lines making up the body of the kitten, the eyes were so cute that it made the whole drawing adorable. It looked like it had been drawn by a small, innocent child who had put absolutely everything they had into it.

ZaXo opened the card up, and began to read what was on the inside:

"_ZaXo,_

_We've known each each other for just over a year and a half now, and I have to say, I'm extremely happy to have met you. It's strange to think that only a short while ago, I didn't even know you existed. But now that I do know you, it would be hard for me to think of life without you as a friend. I'm thankful for all that you've told me about yourself, and your life in America. Hopefully someday we could go to your home country, and you could show me around. You've told me so much about who you are, and I sort of feel guilty that I haven't done the same for you. So from now on I'll try to be a bit more personable. Though I feel I know a lot about you, there's still one question that I haven't been able to answer for my self. I've really wanted to ask you about it for quite a while..._

_When you're done with school here... are you planning to stay in Japan?_

_Your Close Friend,_

_Yoshiko Sakaki"_

He finally took his eyes off of the card and looked up, suddenly realizing that everyone had been staring at him in silence for the past two minutes, while he read and re-read what Sakaki had written. "So, are you gonna read Sakaki's love letter to you out loud?" Tomo blurted out. ZaXo naturally expected someone to scold her for being so forward and pushy, but it seemed that everyone else was thinking exactly the same thing as she was.

"It's not a love letter, Tomo," ZaXo explained, though he was looking at everyone else as well while he did. "Thank you Sakaki," he smirked sincerely. The others seemed to get the hint, and the party quickly kicked off again.

"Sakaki," ZaXo called out when everyone else was occupied again. Still sitting exactly as she had been for the last couple minutes, Sakaki finally looked up at him. ZaXo went over, and sat down next to her.

"I'm so sorry ZaXo. I really wanted to get you something you'd like, but I couldn't find anything nice enough. I'd been looking since we first decided to do this whole thing, but I just couldn't find anything. I really should have just forsaken the rules like Haru did, and got you what you deserved," Sakaki confessed, clearly feeling that what she'd gotten him was inadequate.

"Oh, no Sakaki. This is amazing," ZaXo told her, holding up the card. "Don't tell anyone else..." he started, in a low whisper. "But this is actually by far my favorite gift. It truly is."

"But-" Sakaki started, though ZaXo interrupted.

"Listen Sakaki, it doesn't matter what you spent. What you wrote inside means much more than anything else you could have given me."

ZaXo opened the card one more time, and they both read it together in silence. "I'm just sorry that I didn't get you something this great. And I'm also sorry that I can't answer your question right now. You see, I just don't know what I'm going to do after I finish school. I can't see myself _never_ going back home... but at the same time, if I do go back, it'll break my heart to leave all of you behind. I just don't know what I'll end up doing."

Sakaki didn't respond at all, instead she just continued to stare at the card. ZaXo finally spoke up again, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "You know though, this is easily the most adorable kitten I've ever seen in my life," he admitted, closing the card to show off Sakaki's work of art.

* * *

**Don't really know much of what to say at the end of this one, except that I hope it was interesting for you. Please review if you would be so kind. Hope you liked :)**


	20. When We Dream Pt 2

**This chapter didn't actually take too long. It's surprising, because thinking of exactly how to fill it wasn't easy. Anyway, on with the chapter... Everything Azumanga belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 19: When We Dream Pt. 2**

Osaka gazed longingly at her television, absorbing every frame of the home movie that danced across the screen. The clock next to her bed read 11:30 P.M., which was past when she usually fell asleep. Her eyes were beginning to feel heavy, blinking slower with every passing minute. The girl tried hard to stay awake, feeling a strong need to at least make it to her favorite part of the video. Osaka had watched this movie more than a dozen times since it was recorded. She loved to remember what she considered _old times_, though the events had actually only happened about a year ago. In fact, the reason Osaka had decided to watch the video in the first place, was because it was now exactly a year and six hours since it had been recorded. She smiled as her and Haru walked into the picture, Tomo's sloppy video work barely keeping them in frame...

"_Hey Osaka, why do you like Haru so much?" Tomo asked bluntly, not really paying much attention to the camera work for the video she was filming._

"_Well, I jus' think he's a really nice guy," Osaka started in her usual, airy tone. "An' he's also really fun ta be around. An' he likes alotta the same things I do. An' he's a great, great kisser. Ya know what I mean Tomo?"_

"_...No, not really," the girl behind the camera grunted as she zoomed in to Haru's face. "So Haru, why do you like Osaka?"_

"_Well, I like Osaka because she's a babe! She's smart, cool, hip, and did I mention that she's amazingly cute?" Haru announced, standing as tall as his short stature would allow him, while he wrapped his arm around Osaka._

"_That's my Haru-cakes!" Osaka said lovingly, before they locked into a deep kiss._

"_Hey Takino? What're you doing with my dad's camera?" came a voice from out of frame. It was Yomi._

"_I was just-" Tomo started, trying to hide the camera behind her back. The lens looked at the ground for a while, while Tomo attempted to explain. "I just wanted to film everyone. After all, I think I'm pretty good with a camera."_

"_Give it back," Yomi warned, attempting to grab at the device. The view in the recording changed rapidly as Tomo tried to raise it out of Yomi's reach._

"_I'm not doing anything wrong! Chill out Yomi. It's New Year's Eve after all," Tomo begged in a childlike tone. "I promise I won't break it."_

_Yomi finally got her hands on the camera, the lens showing off her annoyed expression as she turned it off. Everything went blue for a split second before the video suddenly reappeared, the timer showing that twenty minutes had passed. "Okay, I got the camera back from Yomi when she wasn't looking," Tomo whispered into the face of the device. She was walking somewhere through the park, though it was too shaky to tell exactly where. The video abruptly jerked to the left, once again showing Osaka and Haru. Blurs of colors made up the video for a couple of seconds while Tomo attempted to hide in a bush. The leaves of the plant blocked out any sort of view as she adjusted her position, in order to get comfortable in her hiding place. Finally, she raised the camera back up to record, and began whispering to it as if making a documentary._

"_As you can see, it has been nearly a half an hour, and still these wild animals continue their mating process," she explained, putting Osaka and Haru in frame. They were still kissing, and had been the entire time the camera was off. The couple was now sitting on a nearby bench, oblivious to the many onlookers who stared while walking by. "The whole thing is a magical, and extremely disgusting sight. It's probably best if any children watching leave the room, as this could get ugly," Tomo continued, now unable to curb her laughter._

"_Man, it's really cold out!" she announced, changing thought processes as she aimed the camera to the sky. She zoomed in a bit, looking into the clouds above. "It looks like it might snow though," she added, in a slightly more upbeat tone._

"_Tomo, what are you doing?" ZaXo asked from below where the girl was aiming the camera. She zoomed back out, and leveled the picture to frame his face. "Isn't that Yomi's camera... which she took away from you not too long ago?"_

"_Well, yeah it is. But we're having a New Years party aren't we? Am I not allowed to have any fun?" Tomo asked, innocently._

"_I won't tell her, but if you break it, you're gonna be in big trouble," ZaXo warned, giving a smile, and waving into the camera._

"_ZaXo, can I ask you something?" Tomo quickly asked before he could turn to walk away._

"_You just did," ZaXo droned, raising an eyebrow._

"_Aww, c'mon!" Tomo pleaded. ZaXo just sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds._

"_I guess so," ZaXo responded, unsure about the tone in her voice._

"_I was wondering who you have a crush on," she asked as if she was attempting to dig up some dirt on him. "I know you have to like someone we know," she added._

"_I 'have to like someone' you say?" ZaXo started, laughing heartily. "Who said that I had to like someone?"_

"_Well, let's think about this one for a second," Tomo began, holding her hand out in front of the camera. She held up one finger. "Firstly, you're a guy, and guys always have a crush on some girl they know."_

_Tomo held up another finger before continuing. "Secondly, you're surrounded by hot, sexy women your age. You practically spend all of your time with us," she said, finally holding up one more finger. "And lastly, every one of us girls are just amazingly great to be around; the type of girls that no guy could pass up dating."_

_Tomo put her hand down, and zoomed in on ZaXo's face. "So just tell me; which one of us do you like? Or can you not decide because we're all so great?"_

_ZaXo just stared, trying to stifle a laugh. "Those aren't exactly legitimate reasons for why I 'have to' have a crush on anyone. And for the record, I wouldn't tell you anyway, especially with that camera in your hand."_

"_Wait... you claim that none of those reasons are enough for you to like any of us? Does that mean..." Tomo started nervously._

"_Does that mean what?" ZaXo asked out of curiosity._

"_Does that mean you... you know; that you don't like... girls?" Tomo stammered, zooming back out to show ZaXo's expression change._

"_What? Tomo, I don't know where you get these ideas from," ZaXo stated in an awkward voice, his face going red. "I'm gonna go now, before you start asking more questions that I don't feel like answering."_

_ZaXo turned and began to quickly walk away, but was stopped by Chiyo before he could get out of the camera's view. "Hey Mr. ZaXo, are you enjoying yourself? What have you been up to this whole time?" the young girl squeaked, smiling widely._

"_I'm just running from Tomo. She's attempting to stick her nose where it doesn't belong," ZaXo said loudly, knowing that Tomo was recording everything._

"_Well then, would you like to accompany me to the nearest prayer shrine? It's up near the bridge in the center of the park," Chiyo offered, bliss emanating from every word she spoke._

"_Sure I would!" ZaXo answered enthusiastically, turning away from her and bending down. "Here, get on my back and I'll carry you there Miss Chiyo-Chan."_

"_What? That kind of thing is for kids," Chiyo announced. "I'm not a kid anymore!" she squeaked, puffing out her chest and standing tall._

"_Fine Miss Smarty Pants. If you don't wanna play the airplane game..." ZaXo said in a mock insulted voice. He started to walk away, when Chiyo stopped him._

"_Wait, I changed my mind!" Chiyo yelled as if she was ten again. ZaXo bent down once more, and she jumped on his back._

"_Okay, now put your arms out and make airplane noises," he explained, to which Chiyo complied. "Don't worry, I've got you. Aaaaand off we go!" he exclaimed, running off back in Tomo's direction, toward the middle of the park. Chiyo giggled as they went, attempting to make her best airplane noises in between the laughter._

"_Oh, I get it..." Tomo said to the camera, following ZaXo with it as he closed in on her. "ZaXo has a crush on little Chiyo-Chan!" she yelled so that he could hear her as he went by. ZaXo stopped, and looked at the girl holding the camera, an eyebrow raised. "Really?" he asked her rhetorically. Chiyo -who hadn't heard Tomo's comment because of her laughter-, stopped making noises and glanced from her to ZaXo in confusion._

"_What's going on? Why'd we stop?" she asked curiously. ZaXo didn't answer, instead looking around in an attempt to find someone._

"_Hey Yomi! Yomi! Tomo stole your camera again!" ZaXo yelled, giving an evil grin in Tomo's direction before running off, repeating his last statement over and over._

"_Wait! ZaXo, I was only kidding!" Tomo yelled after him. She quickly hid back behind the bush and waited for about a minute, hoping that Yomi wasn't around. When her patience had finally worn out, she forsook hiding in order to film some more before the battery on the camera died. The lens once again rested upon the sight of Osaka and Haru, though they were no longer kissing._

"_Hey you two, what's up?" Tomo asked, walking over to them. "Is something wrong?" she continued, slowly panning between the couple, looking for answers written on their faces._

"_No Tomo. Everything's great..." Osaka said slowly, still clearly in awe about something that had just happened._

"_So then why do you both look like you just saw a ghost?" Tomo probed curiously._

"_Haru... he just told me... that he loves me," Osaka explained, staring intently into her boyfriend's eyes._

"_Woah!" Tomo shrieked. "No kidding, huh?"_

"_Takino!" an angry voice yelled from off camera, clearly coming from a furious best friend._

"_Well, that's great you two!" Tomo stated quickly, turning the camera to face Yomi, and backpedaling at __the same time._

"_Give my damn camera back! Right now!" Yomi growled, reaching for the recording device in a much more impatient manner than she had the first time she took the camera away._

"_But hold on Yomi. I'm just trying to film as much as I can before the battery runs out," Tomo explained nervously, as the incomprehensible blur of video showed her struggle to keep the camera in her possession._

"_What? You wasted all of the battery? I wanted to use it! That's why I brought it with me!" Yomi shouted._

"_But it's okay Yomi. I got some great footage. You're gonna love it!" Tomo remarked. "There's no use getting angry anyway, because the battery could die at any mome-" Tomo began to say, before the camera ran out of juice._

Osaka lay fast asleep on her bed, remote in her hand, as the video on her television, and her nearly identical dream ended. Both her dream and the video would be replaced by blue nothingness until Osaka could wake up to shut it off.

* * *

Chiyo-Chan strolled into her room, a glass of water in her left hand. Her hair was down, and she was in her pajamas, ready for bed. She set the glass down on her bedside table next to her alarm clock, which currently said that it was midnight. The girl felt proud that she had finally stayed up through to the new year, without anyone helping to keep her awake. After all, she was growing up, so it goes without saying that she should be able to stay up longer. The thought of this reminded her that she needed to mark another day off of her calendar. Chiyo walked to the wall opposite her bed, and pulled the marker from it's holding spot above her calendar. She took off the cap, and put a giant X across the current day. Glancing through the other pages, she saw that there were only four more months until her sixteenth birthday.

Excitement flowed through Chiyo, knowing that she was almost what she considered an adult. She was sure that her friends would treat her more like an equal once she was sixteen, though they would always be four years older than her. Chiyo turned off her light, and crawled into bed. Right then, she promised herself that she would make sure she was treated as an adult. Her eyes closed slowly, her mind drifting away from the darkness in the room, and toward the light of a blissful dream.

_Chiyo walked into Yukari's classroom, just as she did every morning, a smile on her face and a skip in her step. However, today was a little more special then every other day; today Chiyo was sixteen. As she walked toward all of her friends, waving hello, their jaws all simultaneously dropped at the sight of their usually small, childlike friend. This day though, Chiyo had changed._

"_W-wow Chiyo, you look hot!" Tomo announced, complimenting her friend as she looked her over. "You're hotter than Sakaki now!" she added, glancing back at the tall raven-haired girl, and comparing the two women._

_Indeed, Chiyo had changed quite a bit. Now that she was older, she was much taller, and had a well rounded figure, just like Sakaki. She had also decided to let her hair down, and dress it up a bit. "Thank you Tomo-Chan," Chiyo smiled, a mature, but still very girly voice coming from her throat._

"_So Tomo, how are you today?" Chiyo asked politely, sitting next to her friend. Everyone else immediately gathered to sit near her, making her giggle._

"_Wow, Chiyo actually wants to sit by me... that's so cool," Tomo whimpered, going completely red with embarrassment._

"_Well of course. Why wouldn't I want to sit by one of my good friends?"_

"_I'm really y-your friend? I'm not worthy of being treated as your equal," Tomo admitted, bowing her head._

"_Sure you are; you all are," Chiyo explained in a comforting, warm voice. Everyone smiled, whispering to each other in excitement about how they were all officially friends of the great Chiyo Mihama._

"_Chiyo is so cool. She's like the coolest girl in the world," Sakaki muttered to ZaXo, who agreed adamantly. Chiyo just smiled at them, while getting her things out for class. As everyone else around her did the same -not daring to take their eyes off of her for fear of missing something amazing-, Yukari walked into the room, and got her things ready as well._

"_Okay everyone, it's time to hand in your homework from last night," their teacher finally announced. Her gaze traveled across them all until she saw Chiyo, at which time, her eyes began to glow. "Of course, you don't need to hand your work in Chiyo. I know you understand the material, so I'll just give you an A."_

"_But I did it anyway, Ms. Yukari," Chiyo chimed in, walking up to hand in the assignment. Yukari took one look at it, and lost her breath in amazement._

"_Wow, I've never seen work that's so complete, so perfect!" she gasped. "You probably know English better than anyone else in the world!"_

"_Nah, I'm just like everyone else Ms. Yukari," Chiyo said modestly, blushing a bit._

"_No way Chiyo. I think you should be teaching this class," Yukari disagreed, turning toward her desk. She then took the nameplate at the front, and turned it over. On the other side, the name Chiyo Mihama was already carved into the golden plaque. "Please teach us something from your vast pool of knowledge," Yukari begged, going to sit with the others._

"_Okay, if I must," Chiyo decided, walking behind the desk and grabbing a marker for the dry-erase board. "I guess today, I'll teach you a few basic words that will help you a lot when trying to use the English language."_

_Chiyo began to write the words on the board, when Nyamo's voice suddenly entered the room over the intercom. "Will the great Chiyo Mihama please come to the headmistress' office to accept her teacher of the year award? Thank you."_

_Immediately, the room erupted into powerful applause and cheers. "Yeah, Chiyo, you totally deserve it!" Yomi shouted, wiping tears from behind her glasses._

"_Thank you all so much. I couldn't have done this without you," Chiyo told them, before bidding goodbye and walking out of the room. She skipped along the hallways, cheers and screams of envy coming from each and every class that she passed by._

_Finally, Chiyo made it to the main office, where Ms. Kurosawa resided. She knocked on the door politely, to which Nyamo asked her to enter. As she opened the door, confetti fell from the ceiling, balloons everywhere the eye could see. "I couldn't imagine giving this award to anyone else," Nyamo smiled, walking through the party decorations and placing a crown upon Chiyo's head._

"_Oh, I'm no better than any of the other teachers here," Chiyo explained, shaking Nyamo's hand._

"_But you are Chiyo. You're sixteen now, and that changes everything," Nyamo admitted. "And now it's time for me to stand down, and for you to become the head of this school."_

"_Are you sure Nyamo?" Chiyo asked in aww._

"_Yes. We need someone young and smart like you to lead us all along," Ms. Kurosawa told the girl. She then walked over to the door, and picked up a mop resting on the wall, with a hat on top of the handle. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go clean the cafeteria before it's time for lunch," she grinned, putting the hat on and closing the door behind herself._

_Chiyo casually walked to the desk in the center of the room, and looked up at the painting of Nyamo that adorned the wall. She pressed a big red button that was on the surface of her new desk, and the painting turned around, revealing a picture of Chiyo on the other side. She smiled, and took a deep breath as she sat in the big, comfortable chair that was now hers._

_While she sat, thinking of all the great things that had happened so far, Chiyo couldn't help but think that she had indeed worked hard to reach this point in her life. Not everybody made it to sixteen years old as quickly and flawlessly as she did after all. It was a difficult task, but it had finally paid off. As she basked in her own glory, the phone on the desk rang, startling her a bit. She sat up in her seat, and picked it up._

"_Hello?" she inquired, curious as to who could be calling._

"_Is this Chiyo Mihama?" came a deep, worried sounding voice from the other end._

"_Why yes it is. May I ask who's calling?"_

"_It's the president of Japan Miss Mihama. I heard that you just turned sixteen, which means that you can hopefully help me with a serious problem I'm facing," the man answered nervously._

"_Of course, Mr. President. I am indeed sixteen now, so I can definitely help you. What do you need?"_

"_Me and the other leaders in the world are in dire need of a solution to world hunger. Everyone is counting on us, but I just don't know what we can do. Do you have any ideas perchance?" the president asked._

"_Well, you could try feeding everyone," Chiyo offered warmly._

"_Oh my! That's genius!" the man on the other end cheered, flabbergasted that she had figured it out so quickly. "That's why I came to you. I don't think any of us could have come up with such a perfect plan!"_

"_It's my pleasure, Mr. President," Chiyo admitted._

"_No, I'm stepping down Chiyo. You're much more cut out for this job," the president explained. "Congratulations on becoming the new president of Japan!" he cheered, before they said their goodbyes and each hung up the phone._

"_Wow, I've got a lot of work to do," Chiyo said to herself, looking excited. She left the office that was once hers way back when she was headmistress of HKU, and walked toward the front doors. When she stepped outside, she came to find helicopters and limos arriving all over. In each of them was an extremely official looking person, all of them looking far past delighted to see Chiyo._

"_We all heard that you figured out how to end world hunger President Mihama," came the voice from the president of the United States._

"_Yes, so we would all like to resign, and offer you the position as 'World President', as you are much more capable of handling the title than anyone else in history," the Queen of England explained._

_Many different people; the leaders of all the countries in the world, looked up at Chiyo, humbled by her presence, and happy to step aside. Chiyo looked at them all, the thought of being the world's first president a little much to take in. "I..." Chiyo started, taken aback. "I guess I'll do it. For the world," she announced, looking them all over. Windows all across the school opened, students popping out left and right. They all looked down at their new leader in admiration and began chanting._

"_For the world! For the world! For the world!" they shouted, those who were once world leaders joining in. People from all over in the streets walked up as well, joining the chant, until a sea of humans was all that could be seen ahead._

_'Being sixteen is great,' Chiyo thought, smiling widely. 'I can't wait until my eighteenth birthday.'_

* * *

**I kinda like the ideas that I came up with for this one. It's silly, and some parts may be... kind of a little controversial to some (though they aren't meant to be that way), but I like it. Please review if you would be so kind. I've gotten so few lately that it makes me sad :( Lol, anyway; Hope you liked :)**


	21. And All Things May End

**Hello again everyone. I recently realized how close we are to the part that I started this fic for in the first place. Anyway, this chapter should be an interesting game changer. Everything Azumanga belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 20: And All Things May End**

"So, have you started Yukari's giant assignment yet?" ZaXo asked the girl across from him, who glanced up from the metal tub she was filling up. Sakaki shook her head and frowned slightly, looking out to the front of the store for a second. There were quite a few empty boxes laying around, each with the Pet Place logo on all four sides. They had just arrived to another volunteer session, and were getting everything ready; though business had been extremely slow the last few weeks. Chiyo had come in with Mr. Tadakichi almost as much as the rest of their customers combine. By now, the two were doing almost everything, other than giving complicated haircuts.

"No," Sakaki muttered, "I was going to start the paper last night, but I got distracted playing with Maya."

"You'd better get it done," ZaXo warned casually. "What I wanna know is what changed her cheery attitude back to normal," he added, changing subjects. Sakaki looked away as a shade of pink fell over her cheeks. ZaXo raised an eyebrow in curiosity, which Sakaki could feel, though she wasn't looking at him.

"...It's kind of my fault," she whispered, with a cautious smile forming on her lips. "But don't tell anyone, okay?"

ZaXo just stared for a few seconds, waiting for an explanation. "One day after class, when everybody else had already left, I decided to ask Ms. Yukari about why she seemed so happy," Sakaki finally said. "I walked up to her desk and stood still for a few moments, but I couldn't get her attention. Finally, without thinking, I just blurted it out..."

"What?" ZaXo questioned.

"I just up and yelled _'What are you hiding Yukari?'_" Sakaki mock shouted. "Yukari didn't take too kindly to it. After scowling at me for a while, she shooed me out of her room. The next day, she was acting just like she always had," the tall girl finished, before tacking on another small statement. "I'm really sorry."

"Pshh, don't worry about it. I kinda missed being the smartest person in class anyway. And since there wasn't any class going on when she was in a good mood, it kinda put a damper on the whole thing for me," ZaXo told her sarcastically. "I won't say anything to the others," he included at the end. ZaXo found it hard to believe Sakaki was more curious than Tomo, and probably wouldn't have believed it had the words not come from her own mouth. Sakaki smiled in relief that ZaXo was willing to keep such information to himself. "You know though, that doesn't mean I'm _happy_ about what you did. Those cupcakes she kept bringing were awesome," he joked.

Sakaki's smile turned into a devious grin, as she splashed a little of the cold water from the tub onto ZaXo's shirt. "Oh, you wanna play it that way, huh?" ZaXo joked, splashing her in return. They both laughed, and Sakaki went to turn off the hose.

"You know, it's crazy that we're already two and a half months into our third year," ZaXo remarked, thinking about how quickly time had seemed to fly by.

"And Chiyo's already sixteen," Sakaki added. "I remember when I first met her. Such a cute little ten year old."

They both reminisced for the rest of their shift, time going quickly even though most of the time they weren't doing anything. "Hey you two," came a voice from the front desk, ten minutes before their shift was over. It was the owner of the establishment; Mr. Yamauchi. In he waddled, his short legs carrying his even shorter body across the floor. He stroked his handlebar mustache, as he always did, though this time there was something different about the way he was doing so. "I've got some bad news."

"Oh?" ZaXo said in a surprised tone, Sakaki staying quite, as she usually did when Mr. Yamauchi was speaking to them.

"Yeah," he responded to the tone in ZaXo's voice. "Because of the low amount of customers in this area, I have no choice but to move the shop."

Sakaki's eyes began to glower with sadness, her hand tightening on the tub. "I know that you two won't be able to commute all the way across the city just to help me out. But I'm so glad that you helped me out while I was here," Mr. Yamauchi stated, smiling kindly. "More than anyone else, you two have done a fantastic job."

"You're welcome. We're glad to have helped," ZaXo spoke for the both of them, Sakaki nodding fervently.

"I know, and that's why I've worked something out with your school to help you out."

Sakaki and ZaXo looked at each other in shock, with bated breath. "I've decided to pay for a fourth of your expenses for both this year, and your last year of schooling," Mr. Yamauchi announced.

ZaXo and Sakaki couldn't believe their ears. They looked at each other in excitement, massive grins appearing on their faces. "Thank you so much Mr. Yamauchi!" Sakaki said in her usual quiet tone. She shook his hand delicately, then almost immediately retreated back into her shell.

"You're both welcome," Mr. Yamauchi replied warmly. "Well, why don't you two start cleaning up this last time, and maybe I'll see you at my new place someday."

The two volunteers chatted quietly about what they'd just been told, while they cleaned up the shop. Fifteen minutes later, they were outside and on their way home. Sakaki seemed extremely relieved by what Mr. Yamauchi was doing. The burden of tuition on her parents was lessened slightly. The girl couldn't have asked for more. When they finally reached Sakaki's house, they stopped to talk for a couple of minutes, as was usual now.

The streetlights finally flickered on, signaling that it was time for them to part. As ZaXo turned to walk toward his own home, he remembered something that he'd needed to ask Sakaki about. "Hey Sakaki," he called out, to which she turned back around to face him. "What's going on with everything tomorrow morning? How is it all going to work?"

Sakaki immediately knew what he was referring to. "Oh, just meet us at Chiyo's sometime around nine o' clock," she answered, saying nothing more, and turning to go inside. ZaXo watched her open the front door, and they waved goodbye to each other before Sakaki pressed the button to close the big gates.

* * *

And so ZaXo followed Sakaki's advice, showing up at Chiyo's house at exactly nine o' three in the morning. The air was cool and crisp, giving him a boost of energy as he excitedly strolled toward the biggest house in the whole neighborhood. The green gates in front were already open when he arrived, and most everyone else was hanging out in the yard. Parked near them all were three cars; a regular old compact kei-car that could be seen all over Japan, a small blue van -which Seijin was leaning against-, and a red, two-seater sports car.

"Hey ZaXo, are you ready to go?" Chiyo asked in a perky tone as he walked up.

"Yup," he replied, raising the bag that he'd brought. He walked up, and placed it into the back of Seijin's van, which had everyone's stuff in it.

"Then once Tomo arrives, we'll leave," she explained, before getting distracted by Tadakichi, who was now rubbing up against her leg like a cat.

"Who're you waiting for?" came a voice from around the gates. It was Tomo, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm here, so let's go!" she shouted, pumping a fist in the air.

"Yeah! To Chiyo's summer home we go!" Kagura joined in, quickly jumping in the passengers seat of the compact car. Nyamo got into the drivers seat, and Chiyo rushed to get in the back seat, along with Osaka and Kaorin. ZaXo turned to face Seijin's van, but realized he was a bit too late. In the front sat Seijin himself, and Haru. Emi, Sakaki, and Yomi were already the back, leaving no more room.

ZaXo's eyes trailed slowly to where is only option lay... Yukari's car. Dread filled his entire being as she smiled widely at him, and beckoned him over. ZaXo couldn't seem to get his legs to move, fear enveloping him. "C'mon already!" she shouted anxiously at him. Still nothing, so the older women ran over and began pushing him toward her car.

"Heh, y-you're not drunk are you Ms. Yukari?" ZaXo stuttered, trying to psych himself out with conversation, as she forced him into the passengers seat. Yukari didn't say a word, until she got into the drivers seat, slamming her door in excitement.

"Nope," she smiled, causing ZaXo to sigh in relief. "I'm just buzzed."

ZaXo whimpered, clambering for his seatbelt. His whole body was now shaking uncontrollably, panic setting in. "I'm just kidding, jeez," Yukari announced, laughing maniacally. This statement however did absolutely nothing to calm her passenger down. The teacher slowly put the key into the ignition, and started the car. The massive engine rumbled to life, its volume drowning everything out around them.

"At least I won't hear my own screams when I die," ZaXo said to himself, though it was too loud for him to even hear his own voice.

"Ready?" Yukari yelled, her question just barely audible over the roar of the motor. ZaXo opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Yukari kicked the car into gear, and launched it hard. The force sent him back into his seat, the sound of the twin turbo's breathing more life into the engine being the only thing he could hear other than the engine itself... and the psychotic laughter coming from the driver's seat.

ZaXo gripped his seat as tight as he could, the white knuckle ride practically stopping his heart. He liked fast cars, but ZaXo didn't like being in one driven by someone like Yukari. Everything around them was just a blur of colors, and ZaXo was sure that half of them were either stop signs or stop lights. "I wanna get out!" ZaXo shrieked in terror, closing his eyes.

"It's too late for that! Just think of this as some sort of initiation! Everyone's had to do it!" Yukari shouted back, before shifting into fifth gear.

"Yeah, but they didn't have to do it in a car that had this much power!" ZaXo retorted.

"Five hundred and three horsepower, to be exact! Hey, wadd'ya say we put the top down?" Yukari yelled over her vehicle, ignoring his statement in it's entirety.

"Nooooo-!"

"I feel kinda bad for him," Yomi said nonchalantly to the others in Seijin's van. Everyone nodded in agreement, commenting no more on the subject.

* * *

Yukari's car slid on the dirt, launching dust everywhere up the driveway to Chiyo's summer home. ZaXo had long since lost all feeling, both in his body, and mind. He simply stared through the windshield, a look of pure terror on his face. Yukari put the car in park, pulled the handbrake, and turned the car off, a satisfied look on her face. Opening her door, she got out just as the others were pulling up. Everyone was coughing from the dust Yukari had kicked up.

Yomi stepped out of the van, and walked toward Yukari's car, to see what had become of ZaXo. Shock fell on her face as she got close enough to see that the top was down. ZaXo himself was covered in dust, his hair swept back making him look like a mad scientist. "So? How was it?" she asked in a sarcastic tone, though there was the slightest sound of pity and concern hidden in her voice as well. ZaXo said nothing, not even yet realizing that the car had stopped.

"Hey! Get a hold of yourself," she told him, opening his door and pulling him out. ZaXo stood up on his own, but his entire body was shaking violently. "It's not that bad, you know; unless you're a little ten year old girl like Chiyo was when she first rode with Yukari," Yomi scoffed as she turned to get her bag out of the back of the van.

"You guys haven't had to ride in _this_ car!" ZaXo cried, tears of stress running down his face. Everyone but Chiyo just laughed at him, as he pouted his way up to the front door.

They all got settled in, ZaXo finally calming down after about fifteen minutes. Chiyo was the only one who seemed to understand the tragedy that he'd just experienced, though all she could do is make things worse with the horror story that was her first ride with Yukari.

"Hey Yukari!" Tomo shouted from outside, coming through the door with a grin on her face. "Who's leather jacket is that in your car? It's kinda cool. Can I wear it?"

Yukari looked casually towards the one who'd addressed her. "That's mine. Hell no you can't wear it! And why are you rummaging through my car?" she asked defensively.

"I wasn't rummaging through anything. It was laying on the floor in the passengers seat. Why d'you need a leather jacket?" Tomo continued prying.

"To look cool when I'm driving and it's cold out," Yukari explained.

"But it's summer..." Tomo replied in confusion.

"So I'm too lazy to put it away! Who cares?" Yukari snapped, cuing to Tomo that it was wise to shut up.

"Time to go to the beach!" Kagura announced happily, grabbing a bathing suit from her bag and running upstairs to change.

"I could go for some swimming," Seijin agreed, and began looking for his trunks.

"I don't really wanna do that right now though," Chiyo said in disappointment. But she was clearly outvoted. Only ZaXo was on her side, but that was because he didn't feel like doing anything near Yukari. In the end, they all ended up at the beach twenty minutes later. ZaXo laid his towel in the sand, and sat down. Sakaki put her towel down next to his, but was immediately beckoned away by Osaka, who thought she might enjoy building a sand castle.

"Hey, d'you wanna play volleyball with us ZaXo?" Chiyo's voice sounded from behind. She was standing tall and proud, Yomi and Tomo at her back.

"I guess," ZaXo answered, though he truthfully didn't really feel like it at all.

"I wanna play too!" Haru announced loudly, jumping up into the air repeatedly.

"Well, that'll make the teams uneven," Yomi explained, though Haru didn't hear her, and was already running toward the net they had set up. "Guess we'll have to find someone else as well," Yomi said in a dull tone. ZaXo was about to say that he would rather just watch, when Seijin interjected.

"I'll play," he told them, to which the girls agreed. "So what are the teams?" he asked in his usual, polite tone.

"Hmm, how about guys versus girls?" Tomo responded fiercely, as if it was the best idea she'd ever come up with.

"But-" Seijin started, wanting to say that it might be a little unfair. Chiyo spoke up before he could finish however.

"Yeah!" she cheered. "I'm old enough now that we'll beat you guys easy!"

"Uh-huh," ZaXo joked, finally getting into it a bit.

"What, you think we'll lose just because we're girls?" Yomi asked sharply.

"No. You'll lose because Chiyo thinks that being sixteen suddenly makes her as tall and skilled as us," he smiled widely, messing up the auburn hair on the younger woman's head.

"Hey!" she whined, before ZaXo and the others took off toward the play area, leaving her behind. "Umph! I'm not a little girl anymore," she muttered to herself, kicking the sand.

Five minutes later, the game was underway. It quickly became apparent that even with Chiyo, the girls were worlds better than the guys. They played two on two, rotating in the other players every round. After three whole games, the guys had yet to win a single match, and didn't even get on the board in the last game. Yomi seemed to be the one making the rulings as to whether the ball went out or not. More often then not, she was on the boys' side, which her team didn't seem to like very much. Still, they were winning, so nobody could really complain at that point. "Pshh, one more game. Winner takes all!" ZaXo yelled, the spirit of the competition now coursing through his veins.

"Bring it on!" Chiyo squeaked, leaping in pure joy from how much fun they were having.

"We've just been messing around," ZaXo warned, getting ready. Seijin started the match, hitting the ball into the girls' court. It went straight for Chiyo, who bumped it high over the net. Seijin set it, ZaXo jumping up for the spike. As soon as it made contact with his hand, the ball went flying toward the ground on the girls' side of the net.

"Nice one!" Yomi cheered him on excitedly. Tomo dived for the ball, barely getting there in time. Her shot was wild however, and the ball went way over the net, and landed near the out-of-bounce line. Nobody could tell whether it was actually in or out.

"Yeah!" Tomo shouted as she got up, automatically assuming that she'd won that bout.

"Actually, I think that might have been out, Tomo," Yomi explained, looking toward her friend.

"What? Why d'you keep siding with them?" Tomo shot, clearly getting annoyed now.

"I'm just calling it the way I see it," Yomi retorted angrily.

"Whatever! Every amazing shot I've made today, you've said was out!"

"Guys, it's not a big deal. We'll just let you take the points," ZaXo stated, Seijin agreeing silently.

"What? You think I'm doing it to you on purpose Tomo?" Yomi shouted, ignoring the boys entirely.

"Well obviously! You're jealous that I can make such great shots!"

"Yeah right!" Yomi laughed, adjusting her glasses and folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm not playing with you anymore!" Tomo yelled, before storming off in Osaka and Sakaki's direction. The sand castle they had started making looked like a cross between a Neko-Koneko and an octopus.

"You're only quitting because you don't want to play by the rules!" Yomi shouted furiously, following a few feet behind her friend. Tomo stopped, and turned to face the bespectacled girl, her face glowing red.

"Seriously guys. It's no big deal. Let's just do something else," ZaXo said loudly, the others agreeing with him, though Tomo and Yomi were now in their own little world.

"Or maybe I'm quitting because I'm tired of you siding with ZaXo just because you like him!" Tomo screamed maliciously.

Before Tomo could react, Yomi lunged toward her, and pushed hard, sending Tomo crashing to the ground. The nearby sand castle broke her fall, disintegrating into nothing more than a pile of sand with a few octopus legs. Tomo's eyes welled up as Sakaki and Chiyo shrieked in disbelief. The wildcat stood up, and without warning, retaliated, shoving Yomi in the same manner. The girl landed hard, her glasses falling off. "I _hate_ you!" Tomo cried, before her rage turned into embarrassment. Tomo ran from the beach without saying anything to anyone, tears blossoming from her eyes the whole way.

* * *

**Well, I hope that was interesting. I have to say, it wasn't as interesting to write as I thought it would be. And yes, everything that has happened, and will happen in this fic (other than small details and some comedic bits) is pre-planned; in case you were wondering. Please, please, please review, or I'll be all sadface and stuff, lol. Hope you liked :)**


	22. Strangest Week Ever

**With each chapter, we're all getting closer and closer to the highlight of the story. "What could he have in story that's more of a highlight that what's happened so far?" you may be asking... or not :D Anyway, you'll see what I mean soon enough. One note real quick; A "barker" is a person common in Japan who stands in front of an establishment, and yells out slogans and such, inviting people to come inside. If you didn't know that, you'll need it. All things Azumanga belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 21: Strangest Week Ever**

The chill of autumn was once again ebbing its way into regular life for ZaXo and the others. But it was nothing compared to the frigid feelings that now held a solid place between Yomi and Tomo.

* * *

_Tomo ran into the summer home as fast as she could. Dashing up the stairs, the furious girl rushed into the restroom. She slammed and locked the door behind herself, causing a picture to fall off of the wall in the hallway. The usually cheery girl was now slumped down against the door, orange evening light bathing her from the second story window. A stream of tears was falling down her face, silent sobs cradling her emotions that had been let loose a few minutes before._

_The wildcat couldn't seem to understand what had just happened. All she knew was that Yomi had gone too far. "This is her fault," the young women reassured herself, wiping her face dry._

"_Ms. Tomo? Are you in here?" a muffled voice sounded from beyond the door._

"_Just go away Chiyo," Tomo responded harshly._

_"Well, i__f you need your space... I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."_

_Tomo could hear the dainty girls' footsteps thumping lightly back down the wooden floor in the hallway. "Sure I'm okay," Tomo muttered. "I just lost my best friend to a game of volleyball."_

* * *

Everyone had expected the two to make up just like they always did, but it never happened. One week went by, then two, and three; but neither of the two would talk to each other at all. It was now two and a half months from the time that they'd had the fight, and still they just avoided each other completely. What was worse, neither would talk to the others about it. They wouldn't bring it up themselves, and if someone else did, the girl would go silent. They both refused to be in the group when the other was around. It was strange to see either Yomi or Tomo, but never both.

Tomo herself was quite a bit quieter then before. She didn't seem to have any of the energy that she had before. Yukari was the only one who enjoyed this at first, though even she eventually got tired of it. After all, messing with Tomo was her third favorite thing in the world; the second being drinking with Nyamo (using Nyamo's money), and of course, messing with Chiyo being the first.

Yomi wasn't any better either. She flew off the handle at almost everything, making it so that the others had to tread carefully in conversation. She started walking to school herself, not going with the others. The strangest thing was the amount that her drive to work had changed. Her grades gradually slipped each day, and she was often late for class. It was as if she had given up, because she no longer had Tomo's slacker attitude as a reality check.

* * *

"_Aren't you going to go after her?" Seijin asked the bespectacled girl, as he walked over to help her up. __Yomi just pushed his hand out of the way, and stood up by herself, grabbing her glasses from the sand. Tears were now quietly falling down her cheeks, but her expression stayed strong._

"_I don't need to go after her. This is all her fault. And I'm not going to accept her apology when she decides to realize what she did wrong either... IF she does."_

_Yomi placed her glasses back on her face, and adjusted them before turning to the others. "I'm taking a walk," she said simply, and strode off. Her confident steps were obviously just a barrier trying to prove that she wasn't hurting inside, but the others knew better than that. Still, she was completely unwilling to let anyone else in on her feelings at the moment, simply wanting to be alone._

"_I'm gonna go see if Tomo is okay," Chiyo squeaked, even her eyes welling up a bit._

"_Alright," ZaXo said, not taking his eyes off of Yomi, as her silhouette shrunk with each step she took._

* * *

ZaXo sighed as him and his parents pulled back up to their house in Japan. They had been gone for the past two weeks, on vacation in America. It had been a fun time, revisiting what was once his whole life almost two and a half years ago. But the entire time, Yomi and Tomo were in the back of his mind. He was hoping and praying that they were friends again when he came back, their fight starting to take its toll on him. ZaXo would have just texted the others for updates on the subject, but his Japanese phone wasn't usable in America. Therefore, he would have to wait until school on Monday for information on the situation.

As he stepped out of the car into the cold night air, ZaXo realized something. They weren't going to school that Monday. Instead, they were once again being allowed to go to the culture festival at Azumanga High. "Maybe going to their old school will bring back memories of when Tomo and Yomi were close," ZaXo muttered to himself, grabbing his things from the car and walking up to the front door. He was the first one there, so he unlocked it for everyone. His mother was just walking up by the time it was unlocked, his father walking in stride. ZaXo opened the door, and let them both go first.

The second she was inside, ZaXo heard his mother gasp, dropping everything she was holding. Shocked, ZaXo turned to look inside, and saw that the house was trashed. Things were strewn all over; pictures laying on the floor, tables turned over. A rush of anger welled up inside of him, as he saw his mother's face, and how hurt she looked. He immediately stepped inside, setting his things down, and taking a look around.

"Be careful," his father muttered. "They could still be here."

"Let's hope _so_," ZaXo whispered furiously under his breath, grabbing a curtain rod that had been ripped down. He stepped slowly over all of the things that littered the floor. His father did the same sort of thing, but not before warning Mrs. Ken'Ichi to go back to the car. The two combed the house for the next ten minutes, looking for any sign of who had committed the crime. There was nothing. Finally Mr. Ken'Ichi called his wife back inside, as ZaXo phoned the police.

Three hours and three questionings later, they settled in for the night. ZaXo wasn't able to sleep very well, which only made things worse the next morning. All throughout the day, they worked at restoring the house to it's former setup. Nothing was really broken, so all they had to do was put things back into their original places. The strange thing was that none of the windows were open, or broken either. It didn't make sense, because none of the locks were forced either. They couldn't seem to understand how the burglar got inside, or why they had done so in the first place. They couldn't find anything missing. The safe was even still closed, with everything still inside.

Doing the only thing they could think of, ZaXo and his family shrugged it off, and decided to simply be more alert by telling their neighbors if they ever went on vacation again. That night, ZaXo still wasn't able to sleep at all, which meant he was exhausted when got up to leave for his day at the culture festival. Cleaning the rest of the house took so long that he hadn't bothered to clean his own room up yet. Clothing covered his floor, as did half of the things from his closet. The drawers were all open, and were completely empty, the contents of them tossed around the room.

ZaXo picked a random outfit from the clothing on the floor, and got ready to go. Walking back out of his bathroom, he turned to go grab his phone, but suddenly decided to forget it. He didn't see it when he'd looked around his room before, and he didn't really feel like looking for it now. With a deep sigh, he walked downstairs and out the front door.

"Hey ZaXo! How was your trip?" Kagura asked when he arrived in front of Chiyo's house, where they always met up.

"It was great; until I got back that is," he droned.

"What, you don't like it here anymore?" Chiyo joked, though ZaXo didn't smile at all. "What's wrong?"

ZaXo explained what happened, leaving everyone speechless when he'd finally finished. "That's so strange!" Seijin said, finally breaking the silence. "Break-ins rarely ever occur here. It may be hard to believe, but crimes beyond pickpocketing and traffic violations are fairly rare across Japan.

"Well, it happened," ZaXo frowned, wishing he could suddenly yell 'April fools!' and make it all better. "Anyway, today is supposed to be about having a good time, so let's go," he added, changing his tone to be a bit more upbeat. They all started walking toward the highschool, happy talk growing the further they went. ZaXo then realized that someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Tomo? Have her and Yomi made up yet?" ZaXo asked Sakaki quietly, careful to make sure Yomi didn't hear.

"No," she replied simply. "They're still not talking to each other. Tomo decided not to come, though she wouldn't tell anyone why. She just said she didn't feel like it."

Ten minutes later, they were at the front doors to Azumanga High. Everyone stepped inside, and almost immediately dispersed. They all seemed to want to go somewhere different. ZaXo didn't mind however. He was so tired that he didn't really feel like doing too much. He simply walked into the nearest cafe and ordered the most caffeinated product they had. When it finally started to kick in a bit, he decided to go walk around at the very least. After all, the culture fest only happened once a year. Why should he waste it?

ZaXo's eyes trailed from one room to the next, noticing that everything was much more diverse this year. There were all kinds of attractions that seemed interesting, but before he could decide which to try first, something perked up his ears.

"Kimuran Club! Come visit the Kimuran Club!" the young female voice sounded off, from three rooms down the hall.

"Are you serious?" ZaXo muttered, turning to go see whether he was hallucinating from exhaustion or not. Indeed, he now stood in front of a room with that said 'Kimuran Club' above the door. The barker in front was dressed in the same sort of boring suit that Mr. Kimura always wore. She beckoned for him to come in. Apprehensive, but far too curious, ZaXo walked inside.

Immediately his eyes met with multiple shocking sights. There were all kinds of games in the room; 'Whack a Kimura', a Kimura card game, and even a 2D fighting game someone had programmed on a computer, called 'Kimura to the Rescue'. There was a cardboard cutout of him that people were taking pictures with, and even his wife was there, handing out Kimura cookies. It was quite a disturbing sight to see his face everywhere, not to mention that everyone who was running the event was in a 'Kimura' suit just like the girl outside.

ZaXo turned to walk out as fast as he could, but he couldn't move. A question in the back of his mind refused to let him leave. Slowly, he turned around, and walked toward Mrs. Kimura, his legs controlling themselves against his will. "Umm, Mrs. Kimura?" he stammered, when he was close enough for her to hear.

"Oh, Mr. Ken'Ichi, how are you?" she said in a perky tone.

"How do you know who I am?" he questioned pathetically.

"Well, how could I not know who the only foreigner in all of HKU is? I do work there after all."

"Oh, right," ZaXo said in a voice that wasn't his own.

"Here, take a Kimura cookie," she smiled, handing one over. "It's shaped and frosted to look like my hubby. Though it's not quite as sweet," she squeaked in the voice of a woman who was dearly in love. ZaXo reluctantly took a bite of the cookie, which could never have tasted good, as it had the face of the strangest teacher he'd ever known painted on it.

"It's good," he lied, swallowing hard. "I have a question," he finally choked out, to which Mrs. Kimura just smiled wider, and waited to hear what he had to say. "Why does this place exist?" ZaXo said, before rethinking the question. "I mean to say, why is there an attraction for Mr. Kimura here at the high school? He teaches at HKU now, and this is a first year class room, so none of them should have met him before."

"Oh, he's just _that_ popular I guess," she giggled. "That great husband of mine left an everlasting legacy here. They wanted to do this so bad that he and his club came to help set everything up personally. He's just so amazing!" she stated enthusiastically.

ZaXo couldn't take any more. "Well, thanks for the cookie," he smiled weakly, and walked out of the room; Mrs. Kimura waving goodbye the whole time. "I wonder if she realizes that the whole class, not to mention his club, are entirely made up of young girls..." he muttered when he turned the corner out of the door. In his stupor, ZaXo wasn't watching where he was going, and ended up running right in to Kagura.

"Oh, sorry," he said, looking to she if she was okay.

"No worries," she replied, though there was something strange about the way she spoke. ZaXo looked to see that she was staring at the ground... where his half eaten Kimura cookie now lay. "Why exactly were you eating Kimura's face?" Kagura asked. "And why were you in _there_?" she added, looking back at the door he'd just come out of.

"I, umm-" ZaXo started, but couldn't think of an explanation. "I'm not entirely sure, really."

"Right," Kagura responded with a chuckle. "But I guess it works out fine, because I was looking for you anyway."

"Oh?" ZaXo asked as he threw the rest of his cookie away.

"Yeah, I was thinking," she began, before becoming distracted. ZaXo looked toward where she was facing, and was surprised to find Haru and Osaka walking down the hall together. What was more, they were locked in a deep kiss akin to old times.

"They're dating again," Kagura stated simply. "Don't ask me why or how."

"Right," ZaXo responding, taking his turn to give a little chuckle. "So... anyway," he said, coaxing her on.

"Oh, yeah. I've been thinking. We should go to your house and look for clues about what happened."

"What?" ZaXo inquired in disbelief.

"Yeah, let's go to see if we can't find anything."

"But I've already looked and there's noth-"

"Then it's decided. Let's go," Kagura interrupted, dragging him down the hall and out of the front door.

"But what about Nyamo? We're supposed to report to her after we leave here."

"We will. I mean, just your adventure in Kimura-Land should be enough to convince her that we spent the whole day here," Kagura explained, speeding up her pace. In no time they were at ZaXo's house.

"So what do we do now?" he asked nonchalantly when they arrived.

"You said you looked around? Inside and out?" Kagura questioned.

"Well, we looked inside at least."

"Then let's look around outside," Kagura decided for him, going into complete sleuth mode. ZaXo gave up, and decided to start looking around as well. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, which came as no surprise.

"Aha!" Kagura yelled after a few minutes.

"What?" ZaXo asked, slightly shocked that she'd found something. He jogged to the back yard, where she was crouched in the middle of the grass. She was holding something, but ZaXo couldn't tell what it was. As he got closer, he realized that it was a dog bone.

"Do you have a dog I don't know about?" Kagura shot at him quickly.

"No... that's probably from when Chiyo brought Tadakichi over the day before I left for America. She happened to be walking him, and decided to stop by to say goodbye. And we just got to talking for a while"

"A likely story," she responded slyly, dropping the bone and looking around some more. After ten more minutes, ZaXo was bored out of his mind. In a flat yard of grass, it wasn't exactly hard to see if there was anything amiss, though Kagura insisted on combing the entire place.

"Are we done yet?" he asked monotonously. '_This is the strangest week of my life._' he thought to himself.

"Yeah, we're done," she said, allowing ZaXo to breath deeply in relief. "Let's check inside now."

"What?" ZaXo choked, taken aback.

"We don't have time to waste," she explained, ushering him to the front door. He unlocked it, and they went inside. Kagura spent another thirty minutes inspecting the entire house, ZaXo just sitting in the living room.

"ZaXo!" came a sudden shout from down the hallway. He got up as fast as he could, everything that had been going on recently putting him on edge.

"What? What is it? Are you okay?" he asked urgently when he ran through the hall into the kitchen, almost falling in the process.

"Of course I'm okay," Kagura stated simply. ZaXo's heart began beating again, though his patience was wearing thin. "I just found something else of importance," she started. In her hand was a bag that was filled with things for a dog. There was a squeaky toy, a frisbee, a bowl, and a leash. The backpack was pink and orange, with hearts and flowers all across the front. "What is _this_? I thought you didn't have a dog," Kagura questioned fiercely.

"Again, that's from when Chiyo came over. She was thirsty, so we came in to get some water. She left it here. I was going to give it to her today, but I forgot, what with everything going on... and me being so exhausted," ZaXo explained, putting extra emphasis on the last few words.

"A likely story," Kagura responded once again.

"Why would I be lying?" ZaXo asked, as if Kagura was insane. The girl didn't answer, instead putting the bag down, and placing her hand on her chin.

"I think I've figured it out," she began slowly. "Chiyo is angry, because she thinks it's your fault that Tomo and Yomi aren't speaking. So she enlisted Mr. Tadakichi to help her break in and trash your house."

"Have you been spending all of your time around Osaka?"

"It's not that farfetched, you know," Kagura explained.

"Yeah, except there's just one problem," ZaXo started, speaking as if Kagura was a little child.

"Which is?"

"Chiyo-Chan is a peppy, proper, sixteen year old girl, and Tadakichi is a dog!"

"She's a child prodigy," Kagura corrected in rebuttal.

"That still leaves one problem," ZaXo replied.

"And that is?"

"Chiyo-Chan is a peppy, proper, sixteen year old girl, and Tadakichi is a dog!"

"A likely story," Kagura replied, raising her chin and chest up high, before walking out the front door.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed your time with this chapter, because it's the last one you'll be reading until I get elevendy-billion reviews! Don't have a heart attack, I'm only joking :) Seriously though, reviews would be nice, since I'm so good at begging ("That's being serious?") Anyway, I hope this wasn't too dark or anything for anyone. Hope you liked :)**


	23. Ice Cold Truth

**Oh, herro again. I didn't see you there. Another chapter is here. Well, this one was pretty hard to write and make long enough. But it didn't end up bad per-se. It's just not my favorite. Anyway, all things Azumanga belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 22: Ice Cold Truth**

ZaXo unzipped his winter jacket before taking his usual seat in Yukari's class. Unlike most days recently, he had fairly high spirits this morning. It had been five months now since the incident at the summer home, and Yomi and Tomo still weren't talking to each other. Neither seemed to be getting over it either, which greatly bothered everyone. But the girls simply refused to do anything about it. Both of them still felt that the other was in the wrong.

On top of all the fighting, ZaXo had never found his phone, which came as a surprise. Even after cleaning his whole room up, and then searching through everything, there was no trace of it. But by now, memories of whether he accidentally put it in the bag he took to America or not had faded. Maybe he had, and then it fell out of his bag or something. Regardless, he didn't have the money for another one.

But even through all of this, ZaXo felt good today. It was a great day to be alive, because that evening was when everyone was getting together for their holiday party. It was a little later in the year than last time, but New Years Eve was the one day that worked for everyone. They had all bought gifts again this year, and couldn't wait to share them. Plus, this was the perfect chance to get Tomo and Yomi to make up. On a day like this, why wouldn't they?

"What are you thinking about?" came a soft, soothing voice from nearby. It was Sakaki, and judging by the tone in her voice, ZaXo must have still looked really troubled.

"Just everything that's gone on in the past couple months," he responded, as she sat down close by.

"You mean Tomo an-"

"Yeah."

"Oh, well hopefully things will get better soon," Sakaki smiled.

"Like maybe tonight if we're lucky."

Sakaki just nodded in silence, now thinking to herself as well. Chiyo and everyone else slowly took their seats, Haru and Osaka now reprising the two that they used to sit in when they were first dating. Everything with them was going great once again. It was as if they'd never any problems; maybe even better than that. ZaXo had to admit, that was definitely a brighter spot in each day. Though it was awkward to see them kissing twenty-four seven, at least they had been able to get over the problems they had. How they did so, still nobody knew.

The rest of the school day went on without a hitch, until finally, the last bell rang. ZaXo left on his own, having one more gift to buy before the party. He didn't have the money to buy things for everyone all at once, so he ended up having to do it in segments. Yomi's was the only one that was left. ZaXo didn't have a clue what would make sense, but he had to find something good. She didn't need to feel like _another_ person didn't enjoy her company. Not to mention, the better her mood was, the more likely that she'd try to fix things with Tomo.

ZaXo walked as fast as he could to the mall, only having around three hours to shop, go home to get ready, and arrive at Chiyo's house. As soon as he walked through the giant glass doors however, his mind went blank. What was he going to get for her? He was only supposed to spend five hundred Yen, though he had a total of fifteen hundred with him. Even still, that didn't make much of a difference.

Therefore, ZaXo just began rushing from store to store, looking for anything he could find that was suitable. After thirty minutes and nothing to show for the time he'd just spent, ZaXo started to panic. What if he couldn't find anything? Would everyone understand? Even if they did, the moment he has to say that he didn't get anything would be extremely awkward. He just had to find something!

ZaXo continued searching as fast as he could, but everything was either totally cheap and useless, or too expensive for even his maximum budget. With only an hour left, he began to give up. He only had about fifteen minutes before there was no choice but to go home to get ready. As he walked into what would probably be the last shop he could search, ZaXo noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Yomi was in the same store, not twenty feet away.

As quickly as he could, he ducked his head behind the nearest shelf. Glancing slowly over the top, he attempted to see what she was holding. But it was no use. She had her back to him, leaving nothing out in the open that could tell him what the object was. ZaXo ducked back down, and moved his way around the shelf, careful to make sure that Yomi didn't know he was there. She had already told them that she'd bought all of her gifts, so this had to be something that she wanted to buy for herself. If he could get her whatever she was looking at, she might be cheerful enough to forget her current feud.

Finally, ZaXo was in a position where he could properly see what Yomi was so fascinated by. He held his head up, and looked over the shelving, but she was gone. Taken aback, he looked to see where she was. He finally found her, walking out of the store, nothing in her hands. _'That's perfect. I don't have to worry about avoiding her now._' ZaXo thought, as he stood all the way up, and walked around to where Yomi had just been.

Right where she'd just been standing was a large glass box used to house jewelery. On the top was a necklace case, with a sale sign underneath. It was the only thing there, the glass box itself being empty. ZaXo picked the leather necklace case up and opened it. Inside was a beautiful silvery necklace that was made of white gold. At the end was a small white gold heart with a sky blue stone set in. ZaXo stared at it for at least a minute, thinking of how happy Yomi would be if he showed up with it. But then reality hit him. How much was it?

ZaXo slowly looked down, moving the necklace case so that he could see the price. He almost dropped the necklace when he saw how much it cost. And it was currently marked down fifty percent! "Darn, there's no way I can afford this," he groaned, putting the item back in its case and leaving it there. Realizing he only had a few minutes, he rushed around the store, looking for something else cheaper. Nothing. ZaXo left the store defeated, and prepared to head home. The whole way, he could only think of what everyone would say when he showed up bearing gifts for everyone other than Yomi.

When he arrived home, ZaXo quickly changed his clothes, and gathered up everyone's presents. He sat on his bed for a few minutes, staring through his window, thinking of a way to explain himself when he got to the celebration. Then he saw it; the perfect gift for Yomi.

He thought about about whether giving her something used was wrong or not, but in the end figured that no matter what, it was better than nothing. ZaXo quickly ran to grab something to wrap it in, along with some tape. He then wrote Yomi a little note, before sealing it all away, ready for gifting.

Fifteen minutes later, he was at Chiyo's waiting for the gate to open. "Hello ZaXo," she greeted him warmly from just inside the front door. She had a big plate of steaming cookies she'd just made in her hands. "Come in."

"Thanks Chiyo-Chan," he replied, shivering from the change in temperature. He took his jacket off, and placed it on the rack with all of the others.

"You're the last one here, so let's hurry upstairs," Chiyo squeaked, hopping up the stairs toward her room. She quietly sang a little jingle all the way which ZaXo could just barely make out. "Cooking is so fun! Cooking is so fun! Now it's time to take a break and see what we have done."

As soon as they opened the door to Chiyo's room, laughter, conversation, and music rushed ZaXo's ears. It eased his mind a bit, knowing that things were so happy. It hadn't been that way for a while. "Where should I set this?" ZaXo asked, holding up his bag of gifts. Chiyo pointed over to the corner, which was filled with bags just like his. He walked over to set it down and noticed that one of them had Yomi's name on it, another one with Tomo's.

"Hey, both Tomo and Yomi are here?" ZaXo asked Chiyo, excited that they were now willing to be in the same room with each other.

"No, sorry," Chiyo frowned. "Yomi stopped by about a half an hour ago to drop off her gifts. But she said that she couldn't stay."

"Oh," ZaXo sighed, his heart dropping a bit. He tried his best to shrug it off, and went to talk to the others. Even Tomo seemed to be having a decent time, which helped futher lighten the mood a little. Everyone talked for the next half an hour. Then they played a game of charades, which ended up being a disaster. None of them was really good at the game at all, but at least they got quite a few laughs out if it. Finally, they decided to open gifts.

Each of them took a seat around the heated table in the middle of the room, Osaka and Haru snuggling up practically halfway underneath it. Chiyo handed out the gifts with the help of ZaXo, Seijin, and Sakaki. When they got to passing out Yomi's they realized something. There wasn't a gift for Tomo in there.

"That's okay. I didn't get her one either," Tomo said coldly, though there was a hint of sadness in her voice. When she thought nobody was looking, she quickly hid something in her lap under the table, but ZaXo caught it out of the corner of his eye.

When everyone had their gifts, they began opening them one at a time. Just like before, most of them were just jokes, as five hundred Yen wasn't much money to spend on someone. But there was still the occasional item that was either very heartfelt, or amazed everyone for somehow being 'under the budget'. Around and around they went, until it was down to the last few. Haru opened his last gift, which was from Osaka, and found a brand new game for the 3DS he'd just bought for himself.

"Wow, I'm surprised that you found that for less that the budget," Kagura joked though Osaka didn't seem to get it.

Up next was Osaka, who'd obviously saved her gift from Haru for last. She opened it casually, and inside found a little piece of paper. Before anyone could ask what it said, Haru explained for them all, ruining the surprise. "It's a coupon good for a thousand free kisses," he said proudly.

Everyone stared, wondering how Osaka would react. As they should have expected, she was absolutely delighted that this was her gift, turning toward him to cash in a few of the kisses right then and there. "That's not gonna last very long between you two," Seijin chuckled, but the couple wasn't listening.

Last up was ZaXo, who had purposely waited to open Yomi's gift. It was round, flat, and fairly small in size. ZaXo opened it to find that it was an iron-on patch of the logo for his favorite anime, Kazumanga Traioh. "This will go perfect on my acoustic guitar bag," he announced, looking it over for a bit. Now that the gifts were all opened, the party began to break out again. But looking at his gift from Yomi, ZaXo couldn't help but feel strange about being there when she wasn't.

After all, she'd known almost all of them for nearly six years. He'd been there for just over two and a half. Tomo's words from the day of the fight suddenly rang in his head. _"Or maybe I'm quitting because I'm tired of you siding with ZaXo just because you like him!"_

Was that true? Was he too blind to see it? In the end, he figured it didn't matter. The fact was, it made him feel like it was his fault that they weren't friends anymore. ZaXo didn't really feel like partying anymore, so he bade goodbye to everyone, and went on his way.

When he got outside, he started to head home. But he felt too restless to just get there and go to bed, which had been his plan. So, changing his mind, ZaXo began taking a walk. Where to, he didn't know. He just knew that he didn't feel like going home. ZaXo stared at the sky as he entered the park, looking at the warm orange color that the city lights cast on the clouds above. He strolled along the path this way for a while, listening to the quiet thunder of the bustling city streets off in the distance.

ZaXo finally looked down as he turned around the last corner before the bridge, and was surprised to find Yomi was up ahead. She was standing over the edge of the bridge itself, staring into the water below. "Yomi?" he questioned in shock. "What're you doing out here all alone?"

"Oh, Z-zaXo," she stuttered, clearly shivering from the cold. "I was just taking a walk. Why aren't you at Chiyo's?"

"I was there, but I started to get bore-"ZaXo began to lie, before deciding against it. "I was... but something didn't feel right."

"Why is that?" she said solemnly, looking back into the water.

"I felt like I needed to talk to you about some things."

Yomi didn't say anything at all, so ZaXo decided he might as well just continue. "I've just been thinking about what was said on the day that... the day at the summer home."

Still Yomi didn't say anything, though ZaXo thought he saw her mouth move uncomfortably. "You know what I'm referring to right? What Tomo said?"

"This is the first time you've thought about it?" Yomi asked quietly.

"Well, yeah. I was a little too busy worrying about your friendship with her."

"What friendship?" Yomi hissed.

"C'mon Yomi. I know you two can't really be mad at each other anymore over something as stupid as this. I can tell Tomo clearly isn't. She got you a gift and everything."

"That's a first," Yomi shot back, laughing a bit, though there was no joy in it at all.

"So, is what Tomo said the truth?"

"It doesn't matter whether she was telling the truth or not. She stepped over a line, and she deserves what she got," Yomi replied.

"You can't really mean that," ZaXo pleaded. Yomi waited a few seconds before responding.

"...I do."

"You need Tomo as much as she needs you Yomi. I won't let you do this to yourself, " ZaXo said in the strongest voice he could muster.

"And who the hell are you to tell me how to live my life?" Yomi spat, glaring angrily at him.

"I'm trying to help you... that's what friends do," ZaXo explained, keeping his voice soft and warm.

"A real friend would leave things alone when they aren't his problems!" Yomi shouted back.

"But it is my problem. It hurts me because I feel like this is my fault, whether Tomo was telling the truth or not."

"I'm done talking about this!" Yomi yelled fiercely. "I wanna be alone right now!"

ZaXo sighed deeply, and looked down at the bag in his hand. "Well, before I go, I'd like to thank you for the gift," he said sincerely. "And I'd like to give you this."

ZaXo got out her gift, and set it on the ground by her feet. He looked at her one last time, but she showed no sign of caring. So he slowly turned around, and began walking toward his house.

Yomi sat in silence as she had been before, though now she was positively fuming. Why was everyone ganging up on her? "All of this is stupid Tomo's fault anyway," she muttered bitterly, though even she didn't know whether she completely believed that anymore or not. Yomi continued to stare into the water for another minute or so, now suddenly starting to feel the true extent of how cold it was outside. She decided that it was probably about time that she got home, turning to leave.

For a split second, Yomi contemplated leaving ZaXo's present laying there, but something inside got the better of her. The bespectacled girl picked it up, and looked it over. It was fairly heavy for how small it was. The package was an extremely odd shape, which piqued her curiosity. Yomi lifted her frozen hands, and did her best to open the wrapping paper with what mobility her fingers had left. When she finally got the top undone, she unwrapped the paper to find an expensive looking microphone inside, and a note to go along with it.

"_Dear Yomi,_

_I hope you enjoy the gift I got for you. I know how much you wish you could record professional-grade at your house. So (since I couldn't find anything for you at the store) I decided to give you my old mic. I know it's used, and that's not exactly the best way to give a gift. But I love that mic. I've had it for quite a while, and it's always served me well. I figured that you deserve the chance to use it, and it deserves to be used to its fullest extent :)_

_Your good friend,_

_ZaXo"_

Yomi read the note several times, each reread making her feel lower and lower. "ZaXo..." she whispered to herself. How could she have been so mean? Maybe he _was_ just trying to help. Yomi glanced up, hoping more than anything to see him standing there, ready to embrace her and tell her that everything was okay. But he wasn't... she was alone, and it didn't make her feel very good.

* * *

**The next chapter will feel familiar, and will partially be a change of pace from the subject matter in the last three, so look forward to that. And the one after that will just be totally crazy. Review if you can. Hope you liked :)**


	24. When We Dream Pt 3

**Like I said on the last author's notes section, most of this chapter isn't dealing with the previous few. But I think this is a fun (and crazy) chapter that everyone should enjoy. Everything Azumanga belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 23: When We Dream Pt. 3**

Yomi walked home that new years eve night, colder than she'd ever felt before. She was unsure whether it just because of the weather, or the way she'd just blown up at a dear friend who was simply trying to help her feel better. She stepped inside of her dark, lonely house, everyone else inside already fast asleep. Yomi quietly went to her room, setting her present from ZaXo on the desk by her window. She fell backward onto her bed, nibbling on a finger nail in regretful despair. More than anything right now, she wished she had someone to talk to; anyone. She wanted someone to comfort her, to make everything magically turn out okay. But there wasn't anyone around. It was just her, and the ticking of her clock, which had just struck one A.M.

Yomi sat in silent darkness for a minute, wishing as hard as she could for a way to apologize to ZaXo. Then it hit her. It may be late, but he should have gotten home about the same time she had. That means she should be able to call. The distressed girl sat up, looking for her phone. It was sitting next to where she'd set the microphone. Grabbing it, she turned it on and looked through her contacts list. There was his name... right next to Tomo's. A sickening, angry feeling welled up deep inside her stomach as she looked at Tomo's number; the one number she'd called at least a million times before. Yomi forced herself to ignore it, and clicked on ZaXo's number.

"_Ring... ring... ring..."_ the phone continued on, until ZaXo's voice popped in.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, ZaXo. I really nee-" Yomi began, before she was interrupted.

"_Just kidding. I'm not here right now. Please leave a message, and I'll get back to you."_

Yomi hung up the phone, realizing that she couldn't get anywhere with this. She'd completely forgotten that ZaXo had lost his phone. Her eyes were now starting to get heavy, so she laid down and rolled onto her stomach. Her arms were cradled up to her chest, the phone in her hand next to her face. "I'll keep this nearby just in case ZaXo finds his phone and realizes I called," she murmured in a half asleep stupor. Her eyes slowly closed, the girl falling into dreamworld seconds later.

_Yomi strolled into the mall, a strange fit of serenity passing over her. She had already gotten everyone else their gifts, other than Tomo of course. But that was exactly what had brought her here. Maybe Yomi could just say what she wanted to. Maybe Tomo was on to something, and she did have a problem dealing with her feelings. Sure her friend had said some things in her moment of anger, but that's who Tomo was. Maybe it was time to finally fix things._

_Yomi knew exactly what store she needed to go to if she was to actually get a gift for her friend. She walked as quickly as she could to the jewelery store that Tomo always used to drag her into. It definitely wasn't the type of place you got wedding jewelery. Everything was of a much lower standard, often made of fake versions of expensive metals and jewels. But Tomo seemed to have a fascination with many of the items there. Yomi would have said it all looked tacky, her friend saying everything there had character. But the truth was, she liked that about Tomo. She was able to enjoy the expensive things in life; the things you work hard to achieve. But at the same time, she knew the value of the fun little things as well. All of the cheesy TV shows, the silly love songs, and even the little toys you got in kids' meals; Tomo could enjoy them all. She thought that was what gave life it's spice. So it was obvious that this was where Tomo would have wanted a gift from._

_Yomi looked around a bit. Even though most of the things weren't exactly top quality, it was certainly expensive. So she walked up to the counter, the store clerk taking notice._

"_May I help you ma'am?" the geeky looking business man asked her politely._

"_I was wondering what I can afford here," Yomi replied, holding out the amount of money she had with her._

"_Ooh, if you'd have come a few days ago, we would have had a much better selection. You see, we had just put a lot of things on clearance sale, but most of it is gone."_

_The man walked out from behind the long display counter, and showed her to a little glass case on the opposite wall. "It looks like this one item is all we have left from the sale."_

"_Thank you," Yomi said softly._

"_If you have any more questions, feel free to ask," he told her with a warm smile._

_Yomi looked down at the last item that sat for sale. She opened the leather case to find a beautiful mock white gold necklace inside, complete with a baby blue gem in the middle. It actually looked pretty nice, and Yomi thought it would be perfect for Tomo. But as she got herself ready to purchase it, something stopped her._

_What if Tomo didn't want to be friends anymore? What if she didn't care, or was happy without Yomi in her life? That was certainly like Tomo, to stick to the wrong guns, only giving up when it was something important. She was probably much happier without Yomi in her life. So why should she care? The same anger that had been filling her for five months started coming back in full force once again._

_If Tomo didn't need her, Yomi certainly could live without Tomo. After all, she was much stronger, much more in tune with herself. Besides, Tomo probably didn't even get her a gift. Not that the gift mattered, but she probably didn't care enough to even think of it. By now, Yomi had no interest in buying the necklace for Tomo. She put it back in the case, and walked out of the store without a second glance._

"_Tomo's probably going to be at Chiyo's tonight. I don't really wanna be there if she is," Yomi began whispering to herself. "If I can get there fast enough, I can at least drop off my gifts for everyone else without seeing her face."_

* * *

Sakaki arrived home, tired from all of the fun they'd had that night. She fixed herself a light snack before heading up to her room. She ate while setting all of her gifts in the places that she thought they belonged. Her gift from Chiyo was a nice picture frame, the picture inside being Chiyo's favorite one of them posing together at Magical-Land. Another was a wristband from Kagura. It was pink, with a big red heart sewn on. She set the final gift up with the rest of her favorite stuffed animals. It was a stuffed version of an Iriomote Cat, just like the one from the game at the culture fest over a year ago. This gift was from ZaXo, who obviously knew she wanted one, as he was the one who'd won the first one for her.

When she was done eating, Sakaki got ready for bed, and slid under her covers. She instantly felt warm and cozy, as she drifted to sleep...

_Sakaki sat in the sun at the park, just trying to feel the comfort of the heat on her skin. She felt peaceful on warm days like this, simply able to just relax in the nice weather. After all, life is hectic when you're the worlds fastest dolphin racer. Everyone's always vying for your position, and you always tend to find yourself defending your position at the most inopportune moments; often times against multiple people at once. But Sakaki was able to keep her title as Number One for twelve years now. As the years went on, less and less people tried to defeat her. Most of the people who cared to try such a dangerous sport had fought her for the title multiple times, and eventually given up._

_Sakaki knew the secret to dolphin racing however, which had given her an easy advantage over everyone she'd ever gone up against. You see, everyone else was too focused on upgrading their dolphin so it had more power. They spent so much time modifying their dolphin, giving it hydrodynamic titanium dorsal fins, or waxing it up so that it glided smoother through the water. But while this stuff helped a bit, of the utmost of importance was treating your dolphin with love, care, and respect. Through this, the dolphin would grow much, much stronger than anyone could imagine._

_A lot of people seemed to think Sakaki was cheating, since she was using an old, completely stock dolphin, who had put in countless miles. But they just didn't understand how to race. And how could they? After all, when dolphin racing quickly rose to become the most watched sport in the world, everyone fell for the ploy that bigger was better. But this just wasn't the case. The only thing she had modified in order to be lighter was her hair, which was now two inches higher than shoulder length. Other than that, nothing had changed in her twelve years of racing._

_But so far that day, Sakaki hadn't had to worry about anyone trying to challenge her. She was so relaxed, that her eyes began to close. She was just about to fall asleep, when her phone rang. "Hello?" Sakaki answered, her spirit sinking a bit, knowing why she was getting a call._

"_It's time again," rang the person's voice, before he simply hung up._

"_Great," Sakaki said to herself as she stood up. "I was just starting to really enjoy myself."_

_The tall girl stood up from the bench, and walked into the trees behind where she was just sitting. The foliage was thick, making it difficult to see what was on the other side. But after about thirty feet, it suddenly stopped, revealing a massive beach. The whole place was full of people, cheering as she came into view. Sakaki casually waved her hand, walking closer and closer to the water. She took off her clothing to reveal a school style one-piece swimsuit, complete with her name on the back, and many sponsor logos on the front._

"_There you are Sakaki. You're late," came the voice of the person who'd just called her phone._

"_So who's my opponent?" she asked the man. He was a wide, balding guy with a beard and a cigar. He wore a plaid shirt, and large khakis held up by red suspenders, as well as a pair of biker's sunglasses._

"_Whelp, it's actually quite a surprise. Someone you haven't seen in a long time," he said simply._

"_And that would be?" Sakaki repeated her previous question._

"_It's someone who I never expected to rise up the ranks, but she's really changed since you last saw her," he continued._

"_ZaXo, just stop messing around and tell me who my opponent is," Sakaki replied impatiently._

"_Why don't you see for yourself," ZaXo explained, pointing behind Sakaki, and simultaneously pulling on one of his suspenders._

_She turned around to find a massive, extremely buff figure standing behind her. The person was at least ten feet tall, and had the largest muscles Sakaki had ever seen. She didn't quite understand who it was until she saw that telltale hairstyle; carrot-orange pigtails._

"_Chiyo-Chan? Wow, you've changed so much! You're even taller than me now," she chimed, embracing the enormous left arm of her old companion. Chiyo delicately placed her large hand on Sakaki's head._

"_I've grown up," she said simply, in a deep, booming voice. "And I'm ready to take you on."_

_Sakaki was suddenly much more excited about the race they were about to have. Both of the girls looked into each others eyes, competitive spirit filling them both. "Just know, my record is 147,589 wins and zero losses," Sakaki warned, grinning widely._

_They both walked into the water where their dolphins awaited. Sakaki mounted her dolphin, Swimmy. It was her very first and only dolphin. He'd always been like a best friend to her. Swimmy was goldish brown, with leopard-like spots all over. Yes... Sakaki had been lucky enough to find an Iriomote Dolphin; the rarest breed in the world._

_Sakaki looked over to see what sort of dolphin Chiyo had picked out. To her surprise, it was your average run of the mill dolphin. But what was even more shocking was the fact that it was not modified in any way. She'd never seen anyone else who used that technique. Nerves began to pique, Sakaki knowing that this would probably be her first real challenge in years._

_The crowd behind them cheered, and Sakaki looked back as she always did to wave one last time. For a split second, she could have sworn she saw a yellow cat-type thing in the audience, though she could tell it wasn't Chiyo's father. After all, cats could grow mustaches, and certainly didn't like to wear hats. Then again, was he even really a cat?_

"_Good luck Sakaki," the new and improved ZaXo cheered her on, as a manager should._

_The horn blew, signaling the start of the race, and both competitors launched their dolphins extremely well. That quarter mile straight may have seemed easy to most, but they didn't truly understand the dangers that lie underneath the waves. Sakaki saw her first shark coming up, and dodged to the right, narrowly missing it's large jaw. She looked left to find that Chiyo's dolphin had leapt over her first shark. Sakaki had never seen such a technique._

_Chiyo was ahead by inches, as they closed in on the halfway marker. Left and right, they dodged the rocks peeking out of the top of the water. Neither of them was willing to give an inch, refusing to slow down. Cannon balls were now flying everywhere, creating huge wakes that could slow down even the most seasoned racers; but not them. Sakaki slowly started to pull ahead as they approached the finish, but then something happened._

_As if it was in slow motion, Chiyo used one of the wakes from a nearby cannon ball to launch herself and her dolphin into the air. They performed two whole front flips before landing in the water and speeding off faster than anyone had ever witnessed._

_For the first time, Sakaki had lost. She had never felt this feeling before; such a mixture of sadness and humility. It was humbling, but also very freeing. Sakaki knew her career was over. It was a great run, and she couldn't have lost to anyone better._

"_I have a feeling you have a great career ahead of you," Sakaki admitted to Chiyo, excited to retire somewhere quiet, ZaXo making her smoothies and rubbing her feet whenever she wanted. She would always miss racing dolphins a little bit, but she'd had a much better run than she could have ever dreamed._

Sakaki woke up abruptly, more confused than she'd ever felt. She thought back to the completely insane dream she'd just had, trying to comprehend how it had come about. Then it hit her.

"I'm never eating right before I got to bed again."

* * *

ZaXo arrived home, ready to go to bed. It had started as a fun night, but his meeting with Yomi had spoiled his mood a bit. Not to mention, he was exhausted. So ZaXo walked up the stairs to his room, and closed the door behind himself. Something was pulling at the back of his mind. He couldn't help but worry about Yomi. Tomo seemed to be doing a little better each week, but Yomi was steadily doing worse. He felt so bad, because she refused to take back her life-long best friend... but without Tomo, she seemed so lonely.

For a split second, he thought of calling Yomi up, to see if she was alright. But then he remembered that his phone was missing. He didn't know her number offhand, so he couldn't use the home phone. If he could only find his cell. It had to be somewhere around his room, so he never had the service disconnected; not to mention, he didn't have the money to pay off the contract if he wanted to.

Then again, Yomi probably didn't want to talk to him at the moment anyway. She seemed pretty angry, and he didn't want to make it worse. He glanced at his clock, which had just struck one, before slumping into bed and falling asleep.

_ZaXo sat in Yukari's class, just like he did every school day, though he felt there was something odd about today. She was currently teaching them how various American super heroes got their powers. After all, that was an integral part of understanding the United States' variant of English. She talked about some of them being tested on by the government, others being bitten by insects, some from different planets, and even one who was just really, really rich with a strong sense of justice. ZaXo already knew all of this however, so it wasn't exactly the most interesting subject. He was much more interested in Japanese heroes._

"_The biggest problem with being a man in a red suit of iron however, is that it's very difficult to avoid bulls. They'll chase you to no end, because the red is so bright. And an iron suit of armor is much heavier than you think," Yukari explained, when the PA system suddenly kicked on._

"_Mwuahahahaha!" a fairly dull sounding female voice cackled over the speaker. "So I've heard that Ms. Yukari has been teachin' ya all 'bout what makes super heroes so great. Well, I've got news for ya. She's lyin'! Super villains're what makes the world go 'round! And I, HypnOsaka am 'bout ta prove that ta y'all!"_

"_What?" everyone in the room gasped in unison. ZaXo stood up quickly, listening to every word that HypnOsaka spoke, the others cowering in fear behind their notebooks._

"_Ya see, I've captured Princess Sakaki, and I'm goin' ta feed her ta my alligators with lasers on their heads, and there's nothin' ya can do 'bout it!"_

"_Sakaki is in danger?" ZaXo shouted in surprise._

"_You have to save her ZaXo!" Kaorin said in the most frightened voice he'd ever heard._

"_But I'm no super hero," he explained, lowering his head in defeat._

"_Actually," Yukari started. "There's a special reason why I put you in my class ZaXo Ken'Ichi."_

_ ZaXo looked up at her curiously, waiting for more. "You see, I knew from the get-go that you weren't from this world. I did some research, and found out that you're actually from the planet Tarble, a place far away from here, where a race of fierce warriors used to live. They were an angry bunch of people, but not entirely evil. You were sent here as a young child to try and buy Earth while offering much, much less than it's worth. But soon after you left, HypnOsaka used her amazing mind powers to destroy everyone on your planet."_

"_Wha?" ZaXo shouted, flabbergasted._

"_Yes, it's true ZaXo. That's why you have such a strange name. But your race wasn't only full of the best con artists in the universe, they also had amazing powers. They were able to harness their spirit energy, and use it as an attack. You just have to have a catchy name for your attack, and a color in mind, and you can shoot all kinds of different energy blasts," Yukari continued on._

_ZaXo couldn't believe it. "C-can I fly?" he asked Yukari excitedly._

"_No. Who do you think you are?" she retorted._

"_How do you know all of this?" ZaXo inquired, looking himself over in amazement._

"_I am... Sakaki's mother. We're from another planet, which HypnOsaka destroyed not long after yours. I was the queen, and she my little princess. In order to protect us, our people hid us here. I knew that HypnOsaka would find us eventually. So I did my best to implant subliminal messages in your mind, to help hone your skills. I tried to make you the hero that could defend my daughter, as well as her new home, Earth."_

"_This is insane," ZaXo said in awe._

"_There's no more time ZaXo. You need to help Sakaki!"_

"_Right," he replied, running from the room._

_ZaXo sprinted down the hallways, somehow knowing exactly where he could find his new enemy. With each step, his nerves almost got the better of him, but now that he knew who he was, ZaXo could feel the immense power coursing through his veins._

_Finally, after everything, this was his defining moment. He was now right outside the main office. He could see a deep red light pulsing inside, and he knew HypnOsaka was just behind the door. Steeling his courage, he slammed the door open and walked inside._

_The room was no longer an office however. It had now been upgraded with much taller ceilings, a bunch of candles, and lots of skulls. The walls were made of dark stone, the floor glowing red. "HypnOsaka! I've come for you!" ZaXo yelled fiercely._

_HypnOsaka looked toward her new arch-enemy from high above on her floating throne, and gave a great laugh. "An' how's a human as small as you suppose' ta help Princess Sakaki?"_

"_Oh, I'm no ordinary human! I'm the last warrior from the planet Tarble!"_

"_W-what? But I destroyed that planet years ago," HypnOsaka stated in disbelief._

"_Well, you missed me, and now it's time your tyranny comes to an end. I am the hope of the Megaverse. I am the answer to all living things that beg for mercy. I am protector of the civilians. I am the light in the shadows. I am honesty... ally to righteous, nightmare to you! "_

"_We'll see 'bout that," HypnOsaka roared putting her fingers to her head. Suddenly, purple rings of light shot from her forehead, straight at ZaXo._

_ZaXo dived to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. He rolled with the momentum, standing up to counter as quickly as possible. He'd prepared the best attack name he could before he arrived, and was now ready to deliver it. There was no way this attack could be avoided._

"_Azu-hame-ha!" he yelled, placing his hands on his stomach, palms facing out. He shot his arms out to full length, but nothing happened. "What?"_

"_Y'all can't do anything ta hurt me," HypnOsaka laughed, shooting another psychic wave at him. ZaXo didn't have time to dodge, taking the attack in full. It shot him against the wall, his body making a loud thud as he hit the ground._

"_Ugh! Why didn't it work?" he muttered, trying his best to stand back up. Then it came to him. 'I forgot to pick a color!'_

"_Ready for another?" HypnOsaka growled, preparing herself for another attack._

"_Ahhhh-" ZaXo began, placing his own hands in position for another try._

"_We've already been through all'a this," HypnOsaka announced, growing annoyed._

"_Zuuu-Haaaa-Mehhh-" ZaXo continued, ignoring his enemies distractions._

"_Alright, I'm goin' ta end this now," HypnOsaka said, shooting another wave at her opponent._

"_Haaaaaa!" ZaXo screamed, extending his arms for another go. This time, it worked. A giant dark blue blast fired from his hands, making contact with HypnOsaka's energy wave._

"_How is this possible?" she shouted, finding it difficult to keep her own blast steady. ZaXo quickly overwhelmed her, his attack taking over. The whole room flashed white as the beam made contact with HypnOsaka. When the bright light faded, she was gone._

"_Princess Sakaki!" ZaXo yelled, running over to where she sat unconscious. "Princess Sakaki, are you okay?"_

_The beautiful girl's eyes slowly opened, and ZaXo helped her up. "I-is it over?" she questioned quietly._

"_Yes, HypnOsaka can harm you no more," ZaXo told her._

"_Oh, thank you! I'll never forget this!" she squealed, embracing him tightly. "You're my hero," Princess Sakaki said softly in his ear._

ZaXo continued to dream, fast asleep, his mouth stuck in the biggest grin he'd ever had...

* * *

**Heh, I hope you like the parody's that I made in ZaXo's dream (as well as the modified 'Goku VS Frieza speech). Truthfully, I knew this was going to be another new years dream chapter, but I had no clue what I wanted for Sakaki's or ZaXo's dreams. Luckily, I just started writing, and it all came together with the feelings I wanted them to convey. Anyway... Hope you liked :)**


	25. I Do?

**Kind of different, this one is. Anyway, I'll let you get right to it. Everything Azumanga Daioh belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 24: I Do?**

"_ZaXo, honey! You've got a visitor!"_

_ZaXo groaned loudly, rubbing his eyes for a few seconds, trying to focus in on his clock. When he could finally see, he realized that it was only nine o' clock, which was far too early in the morning to get up; for a weekend anyway. Pretending he'd imagined his mother's call, ZaXo laid his head back down and closed his eyes. But the peace didn't last very long, for he could soon hear footsteps coming up the stairs, and his door opened seconds later._

"_ZaXo. Yomi is here to see you. She says it's important, so you'd better get down there," his mother warned, swiftly walking from the room. ZaXo whined a bit, forcing himself to get up. He'd been having a great dream, and didn't really want it to end. But judging by what had happened the night before with Yomi, he probably had no choice. Suddenly fully realizing who was at the door, he shot up and out of bed in an instant. He was still dressed from the night before, so ZaXo sprinted straight down the stairs. He looked around the corner into the living room, where Yomi now sat on the sofa._

"_Hey," he said casually, plopping down in the armchair nearby. Yomi took one look at him, and began laughing quite hysterically._

"_What?" ZaXo questioned, before realizing he hadn't checked the mirror. He glanced at the one in the corner, and couldn't help but to crack up as well. His clothes were wrinkled horribly, a fairly large slobber stain on the front of his shirt._

"_Your hair looks like an explosion," Yomi announced, trying to catch her breath from the laughter._

"_My bad. I'll go clean myself up really quick," ZaXo stated, getting up._

"_No... wait," Yomi interrupted, her voice becoming serious. ZaXo took the hint and sat back down. "I just wanted-" Yomi's voice trailed off, the girl clearly trying to find the right words. "I wanted to apologize for last night. I didn't mean to blow up in your face. I just have had a lot of things on my mind," she explained, looking down at her hands in her lap._

"_Ehh, don't worry about it. It's not like we all haven't done that to someone before."_

"_But I stepped over a line. I never should have said the things I did. ZaXo, I-"_

"_Don't worry about it Yomi. I understand," ZaXo repeated soothingly, looking into her eyes to show he was being truthful. Yomi stared for a second before nodding._

"_Well, I should- I should probably be going," Yomi stuttered, clearing her throat and standing up._

"_Yeah, and I should probably go upstairs and try to make myself look more human," ZaXo joked, showing her to the door. Yomi turned around before she stepped outside, the two of them only inches apart._

"_Thanks ZaXo..." she said softly, before walking out into the cold winter sunlight._

* * *

Four months had passed since the day ZaXo and Yomi had patched things up. It seemed that making things better between them was important to her, so ZaXo couldn't understand why she still refused to do the same with Tomo. She'd proven she could do it, so why not in the case of her best friend? Sure Tomo was a little annoying, but she never truly meant to do anything to make anyone furious.

"ZaXo, are you coming?" Chiyo asked perkily, standing with the others at the edge of the park.

"Oh, right," he replied, following along. "So what birthday was that for you yesterday Chiyo? Twelve?"

"That's not funny!" the older girl squeaked. "I'm seventeen now!"

"What's that? You're thirteen? Oh, I'm sorry for the mistake," ZaXo continued teasing her.

"Why do you always have to treat me like a kid ZaXo? I'm a grown woman now," Chiyo pouted.

"Because, you'll always be that widdle iddy biddy girl to me Chiyo-Chan."

"Grr, sometimes you make me so angry," she said harshly, before dropping a big smile at the end.

"So, how excited are you that this is finally our last year?" ZaXo questioned, thinking about the subject himself.

"It kind of makes me sad. It's likely that we all might not see each other very often after this," Chiyo started. "But at least we'll finally be able to go out and live the lives we've been working so hard for."

"Yeah," ZaXo said in a solemn voice, unable to think much about the upside at the moment.

When everyone finally arrived at the school, they realized just how long they'd been students there. Many of the students who were just starting at HKU were so small, so much younger. "You know Chiyo, you're still the youngest person at the school," ZaXo announced, trying to egg her on again. But she was no longer paying attention.

"Miruchi! Yuka!" Chiyo squealed, running from the group toward two girls that looked her age.

"Aren't those the girls from the culture festival?" ZaXo wondered aloud.

"Yeah, that's them. Since they skipped a few grades before our first year here, they should now be out of high school," Kagura explained. "They were never very good at sports though."

"That's good to know," ZaXo began awkwardly. "I guess."

Everyone waited for a few minutes, but Chiyo-Chan was much too busy talking to realize they were still there. "We're going to class now Chiyo," Sakaki said in her usual voice, waving goodbye. But the younger girl didn't even hear her, so they just continued on anyway.

When they finally arrived in Yukari's room, they were surprised to find her already there. "Hello all you beautiful faces!" she chimed as they walked through the door.

"What's up?" ZaXo replied casually, before her mood hit him like a brick wall. "Did you guys just hear that?" he whispered to the others, who looked just as dumbfounded as him.

"Is she on a happy streak again?" Kagura questioned, staring her teacher down. Yukari was skipping around the room, putting little paper hearts all over the walls.

"That would be my guess. I'm goin' ta go ask her why she's so happy again," Osaka replied, starting to walk toward their teacher.

"No Osaka!" Sakaki snapped quickly, before placing a hand over her mouth, her cheeks going pink. Everyone looked at her, that sort of outburst being beyond a simple rarity for Sakaki.

"Oh, well if y'all don't want me ta find out for ya, then I guess ya can do it fer yerselves," Osaka responded, leaving no hint that she'd even noticed Sakaki's sharp tone. "Now, where's my little Haru-bunny?" she wondered aloud, hovering around the room looking for her boyfriend.

"Hi Ms. Yukari," came Chiyo's voice from just behind the others.

"Well how is my favorite student doing today?" Yukari said happily, giving a big smile and a wave.

"There is something seriously wrong here," Seijin announced, watching as Chiyo ran up to give Yukari a big hug; which she accepted warmly.

"Okay, it's time to take your seats if you would please. I have an announcement to make," Yukari told them all, sitting on the front of her desk. She waited for everyone to settle in before continuing. "Next week, I'm delighted to announce that I'm getting married to my boyfriend of a little under a year and a half," Yukari beamed, barely able to contain herself.

"Ha!" Tomo yelled triumphantly. "I knew that wasn't your leather jacket!"

Usually, Yukari would have been all over Tomo for saying something out of turn, but this time she just smiled and nodded. Everyone in the room just sat like statues, unable to fully comprehend what they'd just heard. Yukari stood up from her desk, and grabbed a stack of pink envelopes she had sitting by her computer. "These are the invitations to my wedding," she began, before looking a bit more devious. "And you'd all better show up, or else."

The ecstatic woman walked around the class, handing out all of the envelopes to Chiyo and the others. "Do I get one Ms. Yukari?" a random student questioned happily, smiling at his teacher. Yukari looked at him for a couple of seconds, disbelief in her eyes.

"Of course you don't," she said brightly, continuing on. ZaXo waited patiently, expecting to get an invitation when Yukari got to him. After all, she'd handed invitations to Haru, Seijin, and Emi. Why wouldn't he be invited? But when Yukari got to his row, he was surprised to find that she just walked right by.

"Wha?" he gasped, raising an eyebrow. Yukari turned around, raising the same eyebrow back at him.

"You don't think I forgot about you, right Mr. Ken'Ichi?" she asked.

"Well, _yeah_. You passed right by me."

"That's because you don't get a normal invitation. I have a special job for you," she explained, an evil grin rolling over her face. "Come talk to me after class," Yukari said simply, continuing down the row to hand Sakaki the last invitation.

When class was over, ZaXo did exactly what he was told, walking up to Yukari's desk. "You have a special job you said?" he questioned politely, though his face was scrunched up as if she was about to hit him.

"Yes, I do," Yukari began, putting her feet up on her desk. "I need you to make sure my fiance is taken care of the day of my wedding. You need to help him find his way to the place where it's held, and do anything else for him that he might need."

"Wh-why me?" ZaXo retorted, completely astounded by her request.

"Because he's from America, and you're the only foreign kid I know," Yukari explained casually. "And if you don't do it, I can promise that you'll never get out of this school with a degree," she continued.

"You can't do that. Ms. Kurosawa won't let you," ZaXo stuttered nervously.

"Oh, she wouldn't?" Yukari giggled maliciously.

"Blackmail is really your specialty, isn't it?"

"What _ever_ are you talking about?" Yukari replied innocently. "So, will you do this for me then, ZaXo?" she said, changing back to the original subject.

"Of course," he smiled widely. "I was never going to decline you know," he explained.

"I know," Yukari declared, laughing menacingly. She handed him the directions to her fiance's house, along with the same type of invitation she'd given the others. ZaXo bade goodbye, her nonstop evil attitude starting to creep him out.

* * *

ZaXo woke up as early as he could on the morning of the wedding. He put on the best dress clothes he had, and made sure that his hair was as well kept as he could get it. When, he was ready to leave, he walked downstairs toward the door. ZaXo placed his hand on the knob, when someone suddenly knocked.

Taken aback, he opened the door slowly, wondering who would be at his house so early. "How're ya doin' today?" Tomo shouted, doing her best impression of Osaka's accent.

"What in the world are you doing here?" ZaXo questioned. "Did Yukari send you or something?"

"You and I both know that I'd be the last person she'd want to ask for help ZaXo."

"Very true," he replied, shutting the door behind himself, both of them now in the warm spring sun. He stared at Tomo for a few seconds, the girl finally getting the hint.

"I want to help you escort Mr. Baker to the wedding," she explained, looking at her feet so as to not see ZaXo's reaction.

"What? You can't do that! If I mess this up, Yukari will destroy me!"

"Please?" Tomo pouted, looking into his eyes with the saddest expression she could muster.

"No," ZaXo said simply, starting to walk away. "And how did you even find out that I'm doing this for her anyway? I didn't tell anyone."

"I overheard Yukari tell you to do it."

"Eavesdropping eh? Why don't I just tell Yukari about you listening to her private conversations," ZaXo warned.

"C'mon ZaXo! I just want to see him. I promise I won't do anything bad," she cried, pulling at his arm. "I promise."

ZaXo sighed heavily, walking ahead of Tomo a bit. "Alright, but it's your problem if you screw anything up."

"Yes!" Tomo said triumphantly, catching him up. The two of them began walking toward the apartment Mr. Baker was currently staying in, Tomo wondering aloud how cute he might be.

"Hey Tomo," ZaXo interrupted, looking at her seriously.

"Yeah?" she replied, hearing the tone in his voice.

"Why haven't you tried to make up with Yomi?"

"Well that's certainly a sudden change of subjects," she commented.

"Don't ignore the question Tomo," ZaXo told her simply. The girl looked around as if for a way out before breathing deeply and looking at him.

"I dunno. I just haven't I guess."

"Don't avoid the question either Tomo," ZaXo warned, though he kept his voice soft and polite. She continued to look him over, as if sizing up his reasoning behind the question. After a few seconds, she looked away, wrapping one arm under her chest.

"I just... I don't know if she deserves it, ya know?"

"Why? You do want to be her friend again don't you?"

"Well, yeah," Tomo said slowly, as if admitting a dark secret. "But what if she doesn't think the same?"

"Of course she does," ZaXo smiled. "Isn't that enough?"

Tomo waited to answer, thinking hard about how to address the question. "No, it's not. I'm tired of being the one who always has to apologize. Even when it's not my fault, I always end up giving in. But not this time. It's Yomi's turn to admit that she's wrong."

ZaXo thought about what Tomo had just said, neither of them saying anything for nearly a minute. As they turned the final corner, ZaXo stopped in front of the apartment building which was their destination. "We're here," he said simply, looking to Tomo. She looked like she was about to say something, but stayed silent.

"What is it Tomo?" ZaXo questioned softly.

"It's nothing," she told him, changing her expression to an excited grin. "So let's go see this foreign hunk of sexiness!" she remarked, running up to the front door.

ZaXo followed along, his mind back on Yukari's wedding day. They knocked on the door, and waited for a couple of seconds before it opened. Out popped a man of at least six and a half feet, with a blond surfer hair cut. He was fairly muscular, and was wearing an ill fitting tuxedo. "Hello," ZaXo greeted him in English, holding out a hand.

"Woah, you can speak English dude," the tall man said, attempting to give ZaXo's outstretched hand a fist bump. "Rock on!"

"Yeah, are you Mr. Baker?"

"Totally, man," the guy replied, nodding his head.

"Well, then I'm here to escort you to the wedding whenever you're ready," ZaXo explained. The man straightened his bow-tie, and walked out of the door.

"I'm ready right now, I guess," he chuckled, strutting toward the front door to the apartment building. ZaXo caught up, him and Tomo following right behind the hulking tower of a man in front.

"Do you think this is the right guy?" ZaXo whispered to Tomo, confident that their guest wouldn't overhear.

"Really ZaXo? How many Americans named Mr. Baker do you think there are in Japan? Sometimes you're so slow," Tomo whispered back.

"Well, how old d'you think he is? Why would Yukari go for someone like him?" ZaXo replied quietly, unsure of whether Tomo was right or not.

"Because he's hot?" Tomo quipped. "Seriously, I think I'd know what kind of guy Yukari likes. I've known her _forever_," she explained, then shifting her focus toward Mr. Baker. "Hey, how old are you?" she asked him aloud. ZaXo translated, though he wasn't sure he should have. Mr. Baker looked at Tomo for a few seconds, before bending down to whisper something to ZaXo.

"Hey, who's the babe?"

ZaXo stopped walking, trying to figure out if he'd just heard what he thought he did. "Tomo? She's just... she's a friend of Yukari's," he explained in shock.

"Awesome. I'm twenty three, cutie," Mr. Baker announced, flexing his large biceps. ZaXo translated for Tomo, barely able to repeat what he'd just heard.

"My name is Dwayne," he told them, ZaXo once again translating.

"I'm not so sure about this guy. Do you _really_ think he's Mr. Baker?" ZaXo whispered to Tomo once more, Dwayne making eyes at her the whole time.

"Of course he is! Now we need to get going or we're gonna be late," Tomo hissed, her eyes flirting right back at the hulking figure in front of her. ZaXo shuddered, a bad feeling sitting in the pit of his stomach. They hurried on, walking as fast as they could to the hall where the wedding was being held. Tomo kept trying to flirt with Dwayne, who not only seemed to be taking the bait, but was even trying the same with any other girl who passed by that he thought was cute.

_'Seriously, what's wrong with this guy? He's about to get married!_' ZaXo thought to himself, wondering if he should tell Yukari what was going on when they arrived. He didn't want to get Tomo in trouble, though he wasn't so sure that she didn't deserve it at this point. Five minutes later, they were at the front doors to the hall. As they climbed the front steps, Yukari ran out of the front door, in a beautiful white wedding dress, several exhausted women following behind her. She stopped at the top of the steps, and waited for them there. Her expression was one of slight confusion.

"Hey Ms. Yukari, or should I say Mrs. Yukari. Or maybe even Mrs. Baker? We did what you asked, and got Dwayne for you! He's awesome by the way!" Tomo shouted happily.

"So you're the girl my brother's getting married to?" Dwayne exclaimed, bowing awkwardly, before trying to give Yukari a fist bump. ZaXo's eyes went wide, his pupils shrinking.

"B-brother?" he whimpered, his knees beginning to shake.

"Yeah, my brother, Todd Baker. He's a cool dude. We left him back at the apartment."

Yukari glared at ZaXo and Tomo, her face glowing a deep red color. "Oops, that's my bad," Tomo chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.

* * *

**Lol, I like that ending. Not much to say here. Please review if you have the time. Hope you liked :)**


	26. Avoiding The Truth

**Yeah! Another chapter! Sorry, I'm spazzy right now. Anyway, things're gonna happen in this chapter (whoah, shocker!), so get to reading already. Oh, right. I have to shut up first. All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 25: Avoiding The Truth**

"So, why exactly are you coming to Chiyo's summer home with us this year? I mean, there's already quite a few people going, and you just got married two months ago. Shouldn't you be spending time with him instead?" Kagura questioned her teacher while everyone else in class was studying in groups.

"It's simple," Yukari began, "First off, I love my husband very much, but I spent my entire honeymoon with him, as well as every day since then. Besides, I can't let Nyamo go on vacation without me. Why is it fair that she gets to have all the fun, and I'm stuck at home just because I'm married now? Plus, I need to keep an eye on her, and make sure she doesn't do anything she might regret."

"Right," Kagura muttered, rolling her eyes. Yukari just glared at her.

"You also forget that I'm the only other one with access to a larger car."

"You mean your two-seater? Whatever, that's not gonna help at all. It only gives us one extra seat."

"Two seats. That's kind of why it's called a two-seater. Seriously, how did you even get in to college Kagura?"

"It only gives us two seats if someone who's already going can drive it!" Kagura declared loudly. Yukari's thought it over for a second, her eyes shrinking as she understood.

"Hey, I wasn't talking about my car anyway, moron! Stop getting me off track," Yukari retorted.

"Then who's car are you talking about, huh?"

"My moms car. You know, the one that we took back when you were in high school?"

"Ack, that thing _still_ runs? How is that possible?" Kagura questioned.

"Whadd'ya mean? There's nothing wrong with it!"

"There wasn't when it was new," Kagura mumbled, turning to walk back to her group.

"Hey, I'm not done talking to you!" Yukari yelled after her, before giving up, and closing her eyes in an attempt to catch some sleep.

"Heads up guys. Three of us are gonna have to take a ride in the Yukari-Mobile," Kagura warned the others as she sat down next to Sakaki.

"Not it!" half of them said instantaneously, a huge argument breaking out.

"Excuse me. Everyone, how about we just do first come, first serve," Chiyo said loudly, though nobody heard her. "Hey, listen! _Hey_!" Chiyo yelled even louder, finally getting the attention of everybody. She repeated her last statement, to which everyone agreed. But suddenly a new argument broke out, about who was going to get there first. Chiyo sighed, looking to the only other person who wasn't arguing; Sakaki. "This can never be easy, can it?" she asked. Sakaki just closed her eyes, Chiyo unsure of whether she understood, or was plotting how to arrive earlier than the others.

When class got over, it was finally time for Chiyo and ZaXo to enact the plan they had concocted over the past few days. Chiyo got up to leave, catching up to Tomo for a little chat. ZaXo did the same with Yomi, careful to make sure that Chiyo and Tomo weren't anywhere nearby.

"Hey Yomi," he said casually, falling in stride next to the bespectacled girl.

"Hey," she responded slowly, noticing something odd about ZaXo's voice. "Why are you going this way? Isn't your next class the other way?"

"Oh, I just wanted to ask you something really quickly."

"You did?" Yomi questioned with a hint of nerves in her voice.

"Yeah. I was wondering if you were planning to go to the summer home with us tomorrow?"

"Oh, that," Yomi replied, looking down. "Not if Tomo's going."

"She isn't. She said that she had plans with her family already," ZaXo lied.

"So you guys asked her first, or what?"

"We, um, heh," ZaXo stuttered, placing his hands behind his head, and smiling wide in embarrassment. "Actually, she told Chiyo that she couldn't go," he said quickly, hoping Yomi wouldn't catch on. She thought about it for a second, surveying his expression.

"Alright, I guess I can go then," Yomi said slowly, not taking her eyes off of him.

"Kthanksbye," ZaXo responded at light speed, before attempting to run off in the other direction.

"Hey! Where are you going? Aren't you gonna tell me when to be there?" Yomi yelled after him.

"Sorry, gotta get to class," ZaXo shot back, waving hurriedly. "Just ask Chiyo!"

* * *

ZaXo finished packing the rest of his clothes, tossing them without even looking. He had to be early enough to get a seat in another vehicle. Different car or not, he never wanted to ride with Yukari again; _ever_. He jumped up high into the air, landing with his behind on the luggage bag, trying to smoosh everything down enough to zip it. "Grr, c'mon!" he shouted in desperation, rethinking his idea that he could get everything in there without keeping it all folded. Finally, after a minute of struggles, he got it closed. ZaXo grabbed everything, and sprinted downstairs. "Bye mom, bye dad!" he yelled, grabbing a sandwich from the kitchen table, and dashing out the door.

"Hey, that was... _my_ sandwich," his father said, though ZaXo was long gone by the time he'd finished.

ZaXo heaved his stuff over his back, lumbering as fast as he could toward Chiyo's house. He knew there were going to be four vehicles this time; Yukari's, Nyamo's, Seijin's, and one other, which was a sedan being driven by Emi. But at the same time, practically everyone was going this time, including Miruchi, and Yuka. So ZaXo knew he had to get there quickly. He was only a block away, when suddenly, the zipper on his bag came wide open, spilling things everywhere. "Aww, man!" he cried, rushing to pick everything back up. A polite passerby walked up and started to help, putting things in neatly enough so that it was much easier to get closed the second time.

"Thanks!" ZaXo exclaimed, handing the man the half eaten sandwich as a reward, before stumbling off again. The man looked at him as if he was crazy, before shrugging it off and taking a bite from the uneaten end of the sandwich and smiling.

"I'm here!" ZaXo yelled, as he burst around the corner into Chiyo's front yard.

"Too bad!" Kagura yelled triumphantly, as she came sprinting around from behind him.

"Hey!" ZaXo shouted, trying to keep up, but it was no contest.

"I'm sorry ZaXo, but that was the last seat in the other cars," Chiyo frowned, consoling him as he breathed heavily, sweat dripping from his brow. He looked to see that almost everyone else was already present.

"Thats- not- fair!" he breathed angrily, looking at the confused girl. "You automatically get- any seat you want!"

"Wha?" Chiyo shrieked in disbelief.

"I want- a rematch. You- and me," ZaXo started, taking one last deep breath before standing up straight. "Right now. Let's make it fair and see who can get here from my house first."

"But-" Chiyo started, looking extremely nervous.

"Give it a rest ZaXo, you lost!" Kagura laughed, pulling him away from Chiyo.

"No! I will not give it a rest! I mphm fmfhmf!" ZaXo started arguing again, but Kagura simply covered his mouth with her hand. ZaXo sighed, looking utterly defeated. "I don't wanna go with Yukari," he whined with his arms crossed like a child who wasn't getting his way.

Five minutes later, Yomi arrived, though she wasn't quite as shocked as him that she had to ride with Yukari. ZaXo tried to scare her in order to make himself feel better, but she wasn't buying it. "Listen, I hate riding with her too, but it's not-" Yomi began, before she saw the last arrival walk around the corner.

"I thought you said she wasn't coming?" Tomo shouted from the entrance gate.

"Uh-oh. We've been caught," ZaXo said sarcastically, shrugging his shoulders.

"You invited her?" Yomi inquired angrily, punching him in the shoulder.

"Ow! No. Chiyo invited her actually; at the same time that I was inviting you. We couldn't just decide one or the other."

"I thought you said she had something she was doing with her family?" Yomi retorted.

"That's what Chiyo said too!" Tomo agreed angrily. The two took one look at each other and both turned away folding their arms.

"I'm not going if she's going!" they both yelled in unison.

"You're both going whether you like it or not," ZaXo told them, Kagura agreeing.

"Nuh-uh," Tomo pouted, looking as defeated as ZaXo had minutes before.

"Both of you are here, and both of you are ready. Let's just go," Nyamo stepped in, the girls finally having no choice but to give in.

"So who has an extra seat left?" Tomo asked, looking toward Seijin's van.

"Actually, heh," ZaXo began to confess. "You're going in Yukari's car."

"That's fine," she said happily, Yomi's expression turning to shock.

"...With Yomi and I..." he finished. The two girls looked at each other again. Ten more minutes of arguing later, everyone was in their respective vehicles, ready to go.

"Here we go again," ZaXo panicked, closing his eyes, and clenching his fists on the seat. Even though the beat up old silver sedan Yukari drove this time had less than half of the power of her convertible, as they rocketed off, ZaXo was positive it was much faster. While he was screaming out of the window during the trip, he did note however that it was at least a bit quieter.

As soon as they arrived, ZaXo got out, feeling inches from being sick. "That wasn't as bad as last time," he chuckled, in delirium. Chiyo helped him in to the house, Yomi and Tomo coming in right behind, still refusing to look at each other; which had been the case the whole way there as well.

Twenty minutes later, they were all settled in, and ready to do something fun. The group decided on going to a small traveling theme park that was being held nearby. They walked in a massive group, five different conversations going on all at once. The woman in the ticket booth practically had a heart attack when they arrived. After they bought their tickets, everyone split into smaller groups, some of them wanting to ride rides, others going to play games. Sakaki, ZaXo, and Seijin were in the latter, all three of them wasting money at a bunch of carnival-esque booths. The only one who seemed to be doing well at all was Sakaki, who ended up winning quite a few prizes.

"So what do you guys wanna do now?" ZaXo asked as they all finished eating the food they'd just bought.

"I want to go somewhere relaxing and rest a bit," Seijin voted, looking around for a quiet ride. "How about that?" he wondered aloud, pointing at what looked like a Japanese tunnel of love.

"That might be fun," Sakaki agreed, and they both started walking toward the line.

"But, isn't that for couples?" ZaXo gulped. "As in, something _none_ of us three are a part of?"

"Only in America," Seijin explained.

"Really?"

"Nope," Seijin laughed, as they stopped to wait in line. ZaXo shrugged it off, though his heart was beating in his throat.

They all got in one boat, the ride operator looking at them strangely. And who could blame her? After all, Sakaki was sitting in the middle of a 'tunnel of love' boat, next to two boys, a bag full of carnival prizes in her lap. "She's a lucky girl," the woman running the ride mumbled to herself, before they disappeared into the tunnel.

The ride wasn't near as awkward as ZaXo had imagined it to be, though that was partially because nobody talked during the whole thing. It was too dark to see much while in the mood-lit tunnel, so ZaXo just looked out of his side of the boat, thinking about whatever came to mind. But he was met with a surprise when they reached the other side.

Light bathed the group, and ZaXo yelped, as he realized that Sakaki and Seijin had switched places. "Do I look pretty ZaXo?" Seijin asked in the most girly voice he could muster.

"How in the-?" ZaXo began, his eyes darting between the two. They both looked at each other, and started laughing hysterically.

"You didn't even notice us moving around?" Seijin questioned, his face red from laughing so hard. Sakaki was still giggling as well, ZaXo stunned at what he'd just witnessed.

"I- you- and then-" ZaXo stammered, unsure where to begin.

"Relax big guy, it was just a joke," Seijin admitted, stepping from the boat as the ride finished, Sakaki in tow. "Hey are you coming, or d'you wanna take another ride?" Seijin asked casually, though ZaXo was still trying to process what had just happened.

"You'd better hurry!" Seijin warned, but it was too late. The little boat had begun to move again, ZaXo its only passenger.

"Wait!" he yelled, waving his arms in panic, and almost causing himself to fall into the water.

"Catch you later!" Seijin roared, now practically rolling on the ground from laughter. ZaXo sat grumpily staring at the same tunnel walls that he'd just passed through ten minutes before, as his friends' laughter faded into the distance.

When he finally met up with them again at the exit, ZaXo made sure to get off of the boat as fast as he could. "Did you make-out with anyone while you were in there?" Seijin joked, ZaXo putting him in a headlock. "Ack, I'm sorry, I'm _sorry_," he wheezed, trying not to laugh anymore. The time on Seijin's watch said that it was almost nine forty-five P.M., so the three of them decided that it was best to head back to the summer home, as everyone had agreed to be there by ten.

When they closed in on the house, they could hear what sounded like shouting going on inside. Looking at each other in all seriousness, they rushed through the door to find it was Tomo and Yomi, Chiyo unsuccessfully trying to be a mediator. "What's going on?" ZaXo shouted above them, tired of both of their antics. Neither of their voices hiccuped for a second, both of them once again in their own worlds.

"Same thing that's been going on for the past year," Chiyo said worriedly. "Please someone, do something."

"Hey! _Hey_!" ZaXo shot, the two girls finally stopping for a second.

"ZaXo, tell her that-" Tomo started.

"Enough!" he shouted, interrupting her. "We're all tired of you two acting like children. You're best friends! Start acting like it."

"We are not!" Yomi growled.

"Don't give me that," ZaXo retorted. "You both know that's a lie!"

"No it's not," Tomo hissed.

"Really? Then why'd you get Yomi a present for the holidays, huh? Why'd you tell me that you wanted to make up?" he spat angrily. "I'm done with you two arguing over nothing!"

"I-I am too," Chiyo added nervously. "I miss being able to spend time with you both."

"Definitely," Seijin agreed, Sakaki nodding silently.

"You really did get me a gift?" Yomi asked Tomo slowly.

"Well... yeah. I didn't want to make you feel bad."

"I got you one too," Yomi remarked quietly. Both of the girls looked at each other for a few seconds, before tears began welling up in them both. Suddenly, they both embraced each other more tightly then they ever had before.

"I missed you so much!" Tomo cried, squeezing even tighter.

"Me too!" Yomi admitted, doing the same.

"See how easy that was? Our work here is done," ZaXo sighed, falling backward onto the couch. The two girls ran upstairs to give each other the gifts, which they'd both decided to bring 'just in case'. Tomo came back downstairs with a fake white gold necklace on, complete with a heart pendant and a sky blue jewel in the middle, Yomi sporting one half of a 'Best Friends' bracelet.

"Wow, good thing I didn't buy that necklace for Yomi," ZaXo said under his breath, before giving them both a big grin, and telling them that their new jewelery looked good.

* * *

That night, they all ran into a problem. Because so many people had come with, there wasn't near enough room for everyone in the rooms. Therefore, the girls were nice enough to take all of the rooms, leaving Seijin, Haru, and ZaXo to make due with the wooden floor in the living room.

When all three of them were settled in, they turned off the lights. ZaXo stared into the dark for a few seconds, thinking about the day's events, when he heard Seijin whisper his name. "Hey, ZaXo, are you still awake?"

"It's only been a couple of seconds Seijin. How could I possibly be sleeping?" ZaXo explained, before Haru let out a huge snore. "Then again..."

"Hey, I was wondering something ZaXo," Seijin continued, speaking as quietly as he could.

"Yeah?"

"Well, you've been here for just over three years right?"

"Yeah..."

"Do you, you know... like any of the girls here? The ones you seem to spend all of your time with?" Seijin said slowly.

"Me?"

"No, I'm talking to Haru," Seijin muttered in a sarcastic tone, Haru giving another great snore.

"I dunno. I guess I've never thought about it."

"Yeah right!" Seijin exclaimed quietly. "Seriously. There's got to be someone."

ZaXo thought about his answer for a few seconds, closing his eyes. In his head, he could see the dream he'd had last new years eve. He was holding 'Princess' Sakaki tightly, his whole body feeling as light as a feather. And she hugged him back, happy to be in his warm, caring embrace. ZaXo's chest swelled as the images flew by in his mind, his stomach now full of butterflies.

"ZaXo? Are you still awake?" Seijin questioned, but ZaXo couldn't bring himself to answer. "Damn, he _seriously_ fell asleep during an important 'guy talk' moment like this?" Seijin groaned, rolling over to go to sleep himself. ZaXo's eyes stayed closed, though he wasn't by any means sleeping. He simply laid there in the dark, repeating Seijin's question in his mind; over and over...

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**So? So? So? Did it blow your mind? K, maybe not, but I'm sure you're at least a little bit interested now (if you aren't, then how in the world did you get THIS far in this fanfiction?). Hope you liked :)**


	27. Safety Under My Umbrella

**It's about that time... I'll just let you get right into it. All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 26: Safety Under My Umbrella**

The sky was a gentle, vibrant blue this morning, as ZaXo walked to school with the others. While they strolled along, he quietly stared up at the beauty above, feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin. Everyone seemed to feel the same relaxing surge of calm energy, as things were completely peaceful between them all; including Tomo and Yomi. While the others talked away, ZaXo continued to stare at the small clouds passing by, a frown forming on his face as a thought that had been looming on the horizon came into his mind. His time in Japan was almost up. He still wasn't quite sure if he was going to stay or not. ZaXo was only slightly surprised to know that he could remember most all of his adventures in Japan so far. Almost every day was a new and exciting one, because of the friends he had made; so it wasn't exactly hard to recall it all. This made him smile again, knowing that even though he possibly had less than nine months left in this amazing country, at least it had all been simply breathtaking.

ZaXo finally looked back down toward the path and his friends ahead of him, when -for the first time today-, he noticed that something was off. It was Sakaki; she was missing... and Chiyo was gone too. It's not like it was extremely shocking to see someone missing once and a while, but it was pretty rare for two people to be gone from the group at the same time. ZaXo asked the others if they knew why Sakaki and Chiyo were gone, but nobody else knew any more than he did. "Oh well," he sighed casually, not letting the others in on the fact that this bothered him to a small extent.

Shrugging it off, ZaXo decided to join in the conversation the others were having. Everyone seemed to be having a great time making fun of Tomo's shoes, which didn't match. She had overslept, and in her hurry to catch her friends, had put on two shoes from completely different pairs. But the conversation changed abruptly when Osaka started on another one of her conspiracies. This time she told them about how it was likely that everyone and everything came from a certain species of cat with wings from another planet. She had apparently seen this story in a comic and thought it was a viable explanation for the beginning of life. ZaXo knew that Sakaki would love to hear about this one and made a mental note to tell her about it next time he saw her.

The group's footsteps echoed silently in the loud hallway as they walked up to Yukari's classroom, Osaka wheezing from talking and climbing the stairs at the same time. '_She really needs to exercise more,_' ZaXo thought with a chuckle. When they approached the door to Class 3, everyone stopped at the doorway to finish their conversation, which had since went back to making fun of Tomo. ZaXo glanced into the classroom, as he was becoming a bit bored with the topic. His breath left him as he noticed Sakaki in her seat in the back of the room, tears streaming down her face. He looked back to see if the others had noticed. They had, and he could tell they were all planning on bombarding Sakaki with questions. Kagura began to make a move toward Sakaki, but ZaXo held his hand up in front of her. She stopped and looked at him for an explanation.

"Listen," ZaXo said quietly, "I don't think everyone should charge her when something is wrong. I'll go up and see what's the matter. She's likely to just get more upset if we all go up at once, so wait here."

ZaXo didn't need to wait very long for a response. Almost immediately they all gave a nod to say that they understood, which surprised him for a second. He had half expected them to tell him to forget it. After all, they'd all known Sakaki much longer than him. However, something in their expressions said they had reasons to let him go up alone. ZaXo turned and began to walk toward Sakaki, his heart racing, as was his mind with explanations for what could be going on. The tall girl now had her face in her hands, and didn't notice his approach until he was right beside her. He looked down at his distraught friend and sat down.

"Sakaki, what's wrong? What happened?," ZaXo asked her as politely as possible, trying to keep his worried voice steady. She said nothing, jolting slightly as she let out a sob. "Sakaki, please talk to me. Is it something wrong with Chiyo? Where is she?"

Finally Sakaki choked out a few words, refusing to look up at him. "Sh-She's f-fine. She said she wanted t-to go get me a gl-glass of water, and some ti-tissues."

"Then what's bothering you?" ZaXo asked kindly, moving a bit closer out of concern for his friend. It took a while longer before the girl finally answered him.

"M-maya's sick. I think he's really sick," she whimpered, trying to keep her composure as much as possible.

"With what? Maya was healthy not too long ago wasn't he?" ZaXo exclaimed.

"Yes. But for the last week h-he really hasn't eaten at all. Then this morning, h-he collapsed. So Chiyo and I rushed him to th-the veterinarian. The doctor said that he couldn't yet t-tell what was wrong. Still, he assured m-me that Maya would be fine," Sakaki stopped, breathing deeply to keep calm, as if her thoughts were entering a darker world that was much harder to deal with. "But...," she stopped mid-sentence as her eyes widened.

"But what Sakaki?" ZaXo asked softly.

"But what if he's _not_?," Sakaki cried, breaking down into heavy sobs again. She buried her face in ZaXo's chest, sobbing evermore deeply than before. She tried hard to continue speaking between her constricting tears. "I finally got a pet, something real to love, that loved me back! Now he may die and I don't know why! He's so gentle, it's just not fair!"

She once again began crying into ZaXo's chest, tears staining his shirt. ZaXo lifted his shaking hand and began slowly stroking the top of Sakaki's head, trying to comfort her in any way he could. He glanced over at the others who were still in the doorway talking amongst each other; most likely about what was going on. They kept occasionally glancing over at him and then toward Sakaki.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be alright. The vet wouldn't say he'd be alright if it wasn't true," ZaXo explained in a comforting tone.

"You really think so?" Sakaki sobbed hopefully.

"Well, if you were a vet, could you lie to someone like that?" ZaXo asked rhetorically. "Don't worry about it. We'll all go with you to check on him directly after school. You'll see; Maya will be fine."

"Okay, I trust you ZaXo," Sakaki agreed softly, lifting her head to look into his eyes, arms wrapped around him in a warming embrace. ZaXo wished that moment could last forever, but as Sakaki began wiping the tears off of her face, the solitude was broken by Chiyo, who'd come back with tissues and water. The others weren't far behind, clearly tired of waiting. But ZaXo looked at them sternly, as if to say, 'I'll explain later, don't ask now.' Everyone seemed to once again get the point, and said nothing. Chiyo finally broke the silence by attempting to ask Sakaki if she was feeling any better. She nodded and sat up to grab the tissue that Chiyo had brought.

Throughout the rest of the day, everything went fairly smooth with Sakaki. She slowly began to act more like herself, and even laughed when ZaXo told her about Osaka's new conspiracy. It all made her much more excited to see Maya after school. They had decided they would all meet right outside the school as usual, to see Maya together.

But the happiness didn't last forever. Tomo's mouth made sure of that. With only five or so minutes until school got over, she began to talk about what would happen if Maya had passed away while they were at school. It would have just been normal Tomo-ness and could have been overlooked had Sakaki not been nearby when she said it. This threw the raven-haired girl back into tears, and she ran out of the room crying. Chiyo said she would meet them all outside, and dashed off to go console her best friend.

Class ended minutes later and they all began to walk out toward the stairs, scolding Tomo along the way. ZaXo patience finally broke halfway down the first flight of steps. He told the others that he was going to go on ahead to check on Sakaki. Immediately after he left they began talking about him and her.

"So, do you think they're going out yet? I mean, they obviously like each other. But do you think he asked her out this morning while they were talking?" Kagura inquired.

"No, I don't think so. First off, that's definitely _not_ the right time to ask someone out. I mean, really," Yomi began, raising an eyebrow at Kagura before continuing. "My guess is that ZaXo doesn't want to ask because he fears Sakaki might feel pressured into saying yes, whether she wants to or not. Besides, he may not even like her. He may just be trying to be nice," Yomi replied, a strange note entering her voice for a split second before being repressed. The others didn't seem to notice and continued the conversation.

"But we know Sakaki would say yes. I see her staring at him in class all the time. And he does the same thing. Why doesn't she ask him then?" Tomo wondered aloud.

"Really Tomo? You think that Sakaki is brave enough to ask him out? We've all known her for practically forever now, and she still doesn't even talk to us about her feelings that much. What makes you think she would have the strength to ask someone out? I mean, how long did it take for us to find out how much she liked cats?" exclaimed Yomi.

"Wait... does that mean she didn't like it when I was scaring them away from her all the time back in high school?" Kagura asked herself, baffled that she hadn't realized this before.

"It doesn't make sense though. If Sakaki's determined enough, she'll do anything. She's proven that already. What about that sports fests way back when?" Tomo countered.

"Those are two different things Tomo. She wanted to help Chiyo feel more useful to the team. Asking a guy out is different entirely. But I don't expect you to know how to do _that_ correctly," Yomi whispered slyly.

"Hey, just because I don't have a boyfriend right now, doesn't mean I don't know how to ask a guy out!" Tomo yelled, stopping in her tracks. She continued speaking, petty anger now coloring her cheeks. "And besides, I bet I could get a boyfriend before you Yomi. You're too fat. No guy would wanna date you."

Tomo had just went one step two far as usual, Yomi looking furiously embarrassed. The two girls began to yell so loud that the whole floor could hear them. Kagura cheered them both on, trying to be on both sides at once, while Osaka just stared at them all with a blank face.

Down on the bottom floor of the school, ZaXo was jogging through the halls to get out the front doors. He figured Sakaki and Chiyo were already waiting outside. He was surprised to find that he was only half right; Chiyo was sitting on a bench at the top of the stairs alone. She told him that Sakaki had been crying in the restroom near the school entrance. The weather had taken a turn for the worst, dark clouds giving off a light sprinkle.

"So is she still in the restroom then?" ZaXo questioned, as he sat down next to Chiyo, under her umbrella.

"No. She said that she wanted to get some fresh air, and took a walk through the park. She told us that she'd be waiting at the bridge," Chiyo explained, glancing toward the park in question. He was surprised to hear this, as the rain was slowly getting heavier. Though he assumed she probably brought an umbrella. ZaXo and his younger friend waited calmly for Osaka and the others for nearly ten minutes. However, it was soon apparent to Chiyo, that ZaXo couldn't wait much longer. His concern was getting the best of him, his breathing becoming deeper in impatience.

ZaXo finally rose up off of the bench, deciding they should just go catch up with Sakaki. There was no reason to leave her waiting in the rain to see Maya any longer. ZaXo and Chiyo walked down the steps of the main building, and started walking toward the park. "Yomi and the others should have met up with us by now," ZaXo told Chiyo as they rounded the last bend, right before the bridge; just in time to see what was going on.

Some length down the empty path, Sakaki had seen them both, and was walking quickly toward their location, when she bumped into a passerby and dropped her umbrella. He was a tall, thin boy, who ZaXo thought he recognized as a student at HKU. The man glared furiously toward Sakaki. The wet, shaken girl had accidentally knocked the books out of his hands, so she bent down to pick them up. Sakaki apologized profusely as she stood up to hand him his things. The boy, who had clearly blown a gasket, dropped his own umbrella, grabbed her by the shoulders, and threw her against the brick railing of the bridge.

ZaXo now recognized him as the one who had insulted Sakaki after she knocked into him when they went to his first sports fest. He was the reason she'd sprained her wrist. As Sakaki's back hit the low wall of stone, she dropped the boy's books, which he proceeded to kick out of the way. He slowly stepped toward her, eyes glowing with rage. Sakaki stood still against the bricks, tears beginning to flow down her face like the drops of rain above. Immediately and without warning, the boy threw her to the ground, refusing to utter a single word as to why he was acting so drastically.

ZaXo heard Chiyo gasp, though she was now _far_ behind him. He hadn't even noticed that he was now in a full sprint toward Sakaki. And he certainly didn't have a clue as to what he was going to do next. All he knew was that the boy must pay for what he had done to her. ZaXo lunged out, grabbed Sakaki's attacker in mid stride, and threw his whole weight into a tackle that sent his enemy smashing into the nearest tree. Water sprinkled them both, falling from the leaves above thanks to the power of the attack. ZaXo heard Sakaki cry out in surprise as the tall boy retaliated by punching him across the face. He dished out a few more swings to ZaXo's chest and mid-section, causing him to lose his balance.. ZaXo's adversary took that chance to throw him into the grass.

ZaXo lay on the ground as the opposition walked up and kicked him in the side. He then and got down to start swinging away at his face. ZaXo took one punch to the side of the head, but he was able to counter the next one by grabbing the boy's wrist in mid swing and twisting hard. The pain was too much for the boy, who rolled off to the side, trying to get out of the hold. ZaXo then switched positions so that he was now on top. He suddenly let go of the wrist, as well as all restraint, and began to pound punch after punch into his rival's face, not realizing he was even doing so.

Rage filled his every bone as he continued on; two punches, three punches, four, five. ZaXo couldn't even attempt to stop himself, the boy's offense against Sakaki replaying in his head over and over. It was just too much. '_Who would ever think of hurting someone like Sakaki?_' ZaXo screamed inside his head, almost expecting the boy hear his thoughts and begin explaining himself.

Suddenly, ZaXo stopped, becoming conscious of his surroundings. His vision refocused, and he now felt Sakaki pulling on his support arm. He could hear her tearfully begging him to stop, as cold rain pelted them both. ZaXo's heart skipped a beat, now coming to the realization that he'd gone way too far. He was breathing heavily, knuckles cut and wet with blood; both from his enemy, and himself. ZaXo glanced at the boy to see that he had been covering his face for about half of the hits.

He slowly got up and stepped around the bleeding boy, unable to break his gaze away from the mistake he'd just made. ZaXo finally forced himself to look up and saw that Yomi and the others were all surrounding him and Sakaki's attacker, wide-eyed in shock.

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**I'm not really going to say much here, other than please review (or better yet, wait until you read the next chapter to do so). I want some great opinions on this part, as well as the whole story so far. Hope You Liked :)**


	28. The Final Straw

**Everything Azumanga Daioh belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 27: The Final Straw**

Realizing that he had gone too far, ZaXo offered an apologetic hand out to his injured schoolmate. Through blood and blurred vision, the soaking wet boy saw ZaXo attempting to help, and simply grimaced before getting himself up. When he was finally standing, the boy began to tenderly feel the damage that had been done to his face, still glaring at his adversary in hatred. He was slightly unbalanced, obviously dizzy from getting hit so many times. Everyone just stared, expecting one of the two to throw another punch.

"Hey, listen, are you okay? I kind of lost it for a second. Do you want me to help you to a doctor?" ZaXo asked half-reluctantly. His enemy just continued to stare for a few seconds before responding.

"You? Help _me_? You're the one who needs help," he snapped, spitting blood at ZaXo's feet.

"What's that supposed to mean?" ZaXo asked, his fury growing once again. The boy just cackled maliciously without saying a word. "What the hell is so funny?" ZaXo growled, taking a step toward his opponent. Sakaki grabbed him by the elbow, terrified that he would lose it again. This brought his mind back for a second time, as he took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. ZaXo could tell Sakaki didn't think the boy's actions were okay. But the fight was over her after all, so if she wanted it to stop, ZaXo felt that he should comply. He used all of his might to bury the anger that was once again welling up inside.

"I almost feel bad that you're chained so tightly to this girl. You can't even act for yourself anymore," the boy grinned, egging ZaXo on, as he watched Sakaki's grip tighten around ZaXo's arm. It was all ZaXo could do to suppress his rage. He had never met someone so cold, and was having an extremely difficult time dealing with it. However, Sakaki's trembling hand was just enough to keep him grounded through each passing second.

ZaXo decided it was best that they get out of there before he lost control. So without saying a single word, he turned and walked across the bridge toward their destination, his friends following in stride. Sakaki still refused to let go of his arm, her entire being still shaking with fear.

"Mark my words; being that attached to someone is bad for you! Especially someone like her!" the boy shot, before breaking out in an almost maniacal laughter. ZaXo tried his best to ignore the comment, and continued walking until the bridge and the boy were both out of sight. Five minutes later, he finally started coming down off of the adrenaline rush, and was beginning to feel the pain and exhaustion that accompanied getting into such a fight. ZaXo raised his free arm that wasn't being leashed down by Sakaki, and wiped some of the wet blood from his face. His nose felt extremely tender, to which he expected it broken.

ZaXo glanced at all of his friends, knowing that he probably looked no better than he felt; soaking wet, and broken. No smiles could be seen but one; Tomo, who was under Yomi's umbrella, suddenly opened her mouth, yelling excitedly to the sky. "That was _awesome_!"

"No it wasn't, Tomo!" Yomi yelled back.

"Did you guys see it all? Like, all of it from the start?" ZaXo asked, looking for a way to explain himself. He was suddenly not feeling the same respect he had felt from them all earlier. He felt like an outcast.

"Yeah, we saw it all. We were right behind you and Chiyo when you sprinted off. But I still don't believe it. Sakaki is so nice, polite, and quiet. Why would anyone want to be mean to her, even if she bumps into them on a really bad day?" Kagura wondered aloud, under her own umbrella.

Sakaki normally would have blushed at Kagura's words, but instead just stared ahead in silence. ZaXo could feel her grip tighten slightly around his arm. He guessed that Sakaki was probably mad at him for everything that happened, if not just completely terrified of him. But before he could say anything, Chiyo announced that he should probably clean up at her house. ZaXo followed her orders.

When they arrived, he went into the restroom, Chiyo using the phone to call Seijin. She asked him to come take a look at ZaXo's nose. Seijin was happy to oblige, as he knew quite a bit about injuries, and wanted to hear about what happened.

When Seijin got to Chiyo's, ZaXo was relieved to find that his nose hadn't been broken, though it had sustained quite a bit of damage. After ZaXo was cleaned up, Chiyo reminded them all that they needed to go check on Maya. They walked out of her house, Seijin saying his goodbyes and wishing them luck with Maya. The weather was finally drying up, and the clouds moving on. No matter how hard ZaXo tried, he couldn't get Sakaki to even glance his way, which told him that he shouldn't try to speak to her quite yet. He truthfully wasn't even sure if he was welcome to go visit the veterinarian with them all. He knew Sakaki would never say anything if she didn't want him to go. But something in his body kept him on course, refusing to let him walk away from comforting her if she so needed it.

When they finally arrived at the vet's office, they were greeted with warm smiles; other than ZaXo, who just got weird looks on account of the blackening eyes his nose was causing. "You know I'm not a people doctor don't you sonny?" the vet joked, laughing heartily. He was a fairly old man, with thick glasses and white hair. He looked extremely lively for his age. "Out of curiosity, what happened to you?"

"I, um, fell sir," ZaXo lied, still a little damp.

"You must be a pretty clumsy one then," he replied, ruffling ZaXo's hair.

'_Now I know how Chiyo feels when I treat her like a child._' ZaXo thought to himself, giving a weak smile to the doctor.

"And is that little Chiyo-Chan that I see behind you? This is the second time today you've come into my office, and already you've grown," the vet laughed again.

"Thank you for the compliment Dr. Ishihara," she said politely, bowing.

"Wow, she has?" Osaka asked in amazement. "How tall'r ya now Chiyo? Like four foot, six?"

"Heh," Chiyo blushed, giving Osaka a worried look. "Oh, I almost forgot why we're here! Dr. Ishihara, is Maya okay?"

"You mean the... mixed breed cat?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, of course. I think the summer heat has just been getting to him a bit. Other than today, it's been fairly hot this season, which isn't good for anyone. You might want to set up some way for him to cool down when you're not there Miss Sakaki. Just in case though, I think you should leave him here overnight," the doctor replied, looking warmly at the tall girl.

"Yes, of course," Sakaki muttered, quieter than usual. She led the group into the other room where Maya was. Everyone conversed lightly for the next twenty or so minutes, trying to keep the conversations away from what was currently going on. Sakaki was the only one not joining in, instead just holding Maya and keeping to herself. ZaXo found it increasingly hard to concentrate on the conversation as time went by. Finally though, it was time for some of them to leave.

"Well, I'd better go begin that paper Yukari assigned us last week, so I'll see you all tomorrow," Yomi explained, standing up.

"Yeah, and I've gotta go copy from her paper," Tomo spouted following Yomi out the door. Kagura was the next to get up, just a little while later.

"I need to go get in a run or two before I 'attempt' to do my homework," she joked. "I'll see you later Sakaki."

They all waved as Kagura left the room, everything getting quite a bit quieter after that. It was another hour before Osaka decided it was time to leave. She had spent most of her time asking the vet about weird things different animals did, and she didn't really seem like she wanted to go. "I'll be back sometime soon 'kay?" she smiled at the doctor, who grinned nervously.

"Bye Chiyo-Chan. Bye Sakaki. Bye ZaXo. Bye Maya," Osaka waved at them all in order before heading outside and leaving toward her house.

"That girl sure did give my knowledge a workout," Dr. Ishihara laughed, his receptionist giggling along with him. At that point, ZaXo and the others decided that it was probably best if they left as well. Sakaki repeatedly said her goodbye's to Maya, clearly having a hard time leaving him behind. "Don't worry. He'll be just fine," the doctor reassured her as they walked out of the front doors.

As they began to head toward their neighborhood, ZaXo couldn't help but feel anxious. Something inside of him was boiling up, and he didn't know how long he could hold it in. Nobody really talked, ZaXo once again looking up into the sky, as he had been that morning. It was now slowly deepening into a warm orange, as the sun got lower and lower.

Quite a few times, ZaXo opened his mouth to say something, but not a single word could escape, no matter how hard he tried. How was he supposed to apologize to Sakaki? He already knew he had gone too far; but by no means did he think he'd made the wrong choice. But what if she disagreed? No, he was _sure_ she disagreed. It was written in every tiny sigh she made, in every worried look she shot him, even if they were only for a split second.

A strange, almost angry feeling started taking over inside of ZaXo. Why he couldn't get himself to simply say "I'm sorry" was beyond him. There was just such a strong fear of her rejecting the apology; he didn't know if he could face the thought of being without her caring friendship. Right now, the most comforting place to be was on the fence, using his own silence as a defense. But soon, that silence that protected him threatened to rip him up inside if he didn't say something first.

Finally, when they were about halfway home, ZaXo gave in to his thoughts. Whether she decided she would hate him forever or not, ZaXo could never live with himself if he didn't try to patch things up with Sakaki. His feet suddenly stopped carrying his weight further along the sidewalk, his entire being standing still. It took Chiyo and Sakaki a few seconds to realize that ZaXo wasn't next to them anymore. They turned around to see him standing a few feet back, just looking nervously at them both. The two girls stared back, unsure of what to do.

"Listen Sakaki, I know you don't think violence is ever the answer, but I want you to know that I didn't mean to go as far as I did," ZaXo began, as he walked up closer to the girls. "I just... I lost control. I can't stand to see good people in danger. You know it isn't like me to do something like that Sakaki, and it never will be. I'll try my best not to lose control again. I hope you understand that, and accept it," ZaXo explained carefully.

"I don't want you to be afraid of me Sakaki. And I don't want to ruin our friendship," ZaXo told her, with pleading eyes.

Sakaki stared at him, Chiyo looking up to her for a response. Tension grew inside of ZaXo with every second of silence that passed by. So he continued talking, trying anything to lessen the fear that was eating at him. "Do you understand Sakaki? Can we still be frie-"

Before he could finish, Sakaki interrupted, in a voice so quiet that ZaXo had to listen hard just to catch her words, "No, I... I d-don't want to be your friend anymore ZaXo."

ZaXo tried hard not to let his eyes well up. In panic, he rushed to re-explain himself frantically. "Sakaki, _please_," he begged. "I'm sorry I acted so out of line. I just have a hard time stopping myself when I see someone I love in danger. I guess I get so focused on helping people... that I don't think I might actually be letting them down in the process. Please, I don't want you to hate me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I... just can't b-be your friend," Sakaki repeated, trembling all over. ZaXo felt like all of the life he'd possessed had just been stolen; ripped out and burned to the ground right before his eyes. But before he could fathom what he'd thought he'd just heard, Sakaki wrapped her arms around him an began to kiss him. It was a deep, loving kiss, unlike anything ZaXo had ever experienced. All of the sadness he had been experiencing -all of the fear-, it was washed away in that very instant. The only thing that mattered was the here and now. Time stood still as Sakaki's lips warmed him to the very core, the world falling away around them as he evanesced into her loving embrace.

But that moment couldn't last forever, and they soon broke apart. Confusion now hit ZaXo like a brick to the head. He couldn't tell what was going on. Such a sudden change made him feel as if he was going to pass out. Trying to steady himself, he waited for an explanation. "I don't wanna be your friend, ZaXo. I... I think I love you. I want to be _with_ you. Please, never change. My favorite thing about you is how much you care for everyone. You try so hard to make sure that everyone is happy; that eveyrone is protected. You didn't let anyone down today. And most of all, you didn't let me down," Sakaki whispered, blushing bright pink. She gazed into his eyes, ZaXo at a complete loss for words.

"I think I've liked you since you first came here ZaXo. I just couldn't admit it to myself," Sakaki explained, refusing to lose eye contact.

Taken aback, ZaXo just stared at her wide-eyed for a second. Thoughts were racing through his mind faster than he could even begin to process them. He slowly took a deep breath, still feeling like he was inches from falling unconscious. "I love you too Sakaki," he confessed, unable to say much else at the moment.

"Oh, ZaXo!" Sakaki cried, once again wrapping her arms around him, in a warm, loving embrace.

Chiyo had been so quiet until now, they hadn't yet even realized that she was still there. ZaXo glanced down at her to see that she was crying silently into her palm. "Oh, I knew you two liked each other!" she choked happily. "I wish I could find someone who cares as much about me as you two do for each other! You're _so_ cute together!" Chiyo yelled happily.

Sakaki and ZaXo broke from their hug, and looked at their young friend. Tears were streaming down her face as they wrapped her up in a warm group hug.

"How long did you know we both liked each other?" ZaXo asked as they separated. At the moment, he was unable to stem the happiness pouring out of him.

"Oh, I've had a feeling about it for a long, long time. Since that day that you two sang together at my home. I was wondering if this was ever going to happen," she told them, still smiling as wide as she could. "I was about to make it happen myself," Chiyo stated winking at them.

"Do you think the others know?" Sakaki asked, wiping the blissful tears from her eyes.

"No, I don't think so Miss Sakaki, though they don't talk about stuff like that around me. They still act like I'm a little kid," Chiyo explained, glaring playfully in ZaXo's direction.

"In that case, why don't we see how long it takes them to notice. Can you promise not to tell them Chiyo?" ZaXo asked deviously.

"Oh, yes, I promise. I won't tell them anything," Chiyo giggled.

They all laughed, as they continued on walking. ZaXo now had his arm wrapped around Sakaki's shoulders, who was resting her head next to his. All three of them were positively beaming, as if nothing could ruin their day now. And indeed nothing would. The three of them walked on in silence, enjoying the vibrant orange light that the sky let off as the sun slowly set.

* * *

**Please review if you would be so kind... Hope You Liked :)**


	29. The Warmest Winter

**Hello every-nyan. I've got another chapter ready and willing to be read (ooh, dirty). So without further ado, here it is. All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 28: The Warmest Winter**

ZaXo stepped into the cold winter air outside, ready for yet another day of school. He took a deep breath, the icy temperature burning the inside of his nose; but he didn't care. Today was a great day. Then again, every day had been perfect lately. ZaXo walked as quickly as he could toward the entrance to the park. When he turned the last corner, he was delighted to see the same sight he'd seen for the last four months. There she was; Sakaki. She was waiting... waiting just for him. She smiled wide as ZaXo quickened in pace, anxious to be by her side.

Sakaki opened her arms, and gave him a warm hug, along with a quick kiss on the cheek. ZaXo couldn't help but feel a deep warmth spread through his body. "Get a room!" Tomo yelled, as they started walking. "Seriously, are you guys gonna do that _every_ single morning?"

"Probably," ZaXo answered nonchalantly, taking Sakaki's hand and walking with everyone else. Tomo just groaned, placing her chin on Yomi's shoulder.

"Yomi, why don't I have a boyfriend?"

"Don't get me started on that," Yomi warned, though Tomo persisted anyway. ZaXo ignored them, thinking back to the day that everyone else had learned about Sakaki and himself. Though they had wanted to see how long it took everyone to notice that something was different, it didn't last any longer than a day.

* * *

"_So, is Maya still doing okay?" Kagura wondered aloud, as Sakaki arrived at their usual meeting place before school. The tall girl was positively beaming._

"_Yes, he's going to be just fine," she said excitedly, looking everyone over. No ZaXo yet..._

"_How are you this morning Miss Sakaki?" Chiyo asked in between giggles._

"_I'm just gr-" Sakaki started, before seeing ZaXo turn the corner nearby. ZaXo looked over at her, and smiled widely, before catching himself and trying to act more normal. But it was too late. Kagura had caught it._

"_Why're you so happy?" she questioned as he arrived. Sakaki stood strangely close to him, Chiyo-Chan just giggling the whole entire time. Kagura looked at them all, raising an eyebrow in confusion. By now, even the others knew something was off._

"_It's just a great day isn't it? Today is going to be great!" ZaXo chimed in quickly, taking a small glance at Sakaki._

"_Right..." Kagura replied, staring at them all curiously. "So... anything happen yesterday after I left?" she inquired slyly, watching their every movement._

"_Why would you ask that?" Chiyo stammered nervously, unable to stop giggling._

"_No reason," Kagura lied._

"_Cuz it looks like y'all are hidin' somethin'," Osaka explained blatantly. ZaXo looked away from everyone, while Sakaki's face went pink, and Chiyo covered her mouth; the laughter from it becoming louder by the second._

"_Of course not," ZaXo told them, still not looking toward anyone._

"_Osaka's right. You guys are up to something," Yomi agreed, eying them just as much as Kagura was._

"_I've got it!" Tomo shouted, grinning from ear to ear. "They're finally d-"_

"_Sakaki and ZaXo are dating!" Chiyo interrupted, clutching her stomach, in pain from all of the laughter._

"_Chiyo!" ZaXo groaned, the younger girl looking at him apologetically._

"_Hey, I was gonna say that!" Tomo said angrily._

"_It's not like it wasn't obvious, Tomo," Yomi retorted matter-of-factly._

"_Really? I was sure they'd found some sorta bag o' money're somethin'," Osaka admitted casually._

* * *

"ZaXo, are you coming inside?" came Sakaki's voice from just up ahead. He snapped out of his memory, to find that they were already at school. Sakaki was holding the door open, waiting for him to go through.

"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking," ZaXo explained, walking into the warm school air.

"Aren't you supposed to open the door for her?" Tomo asked, raising an eyebrow in ZaXo's direction. He was about to respond, before Yomi did it for him.

"Maybe Sakaki wanted to do it instead. Relationships are about give and take you know, Tomo."

"I know! But it's just the nice thing to do," Tomo shot back.

"And Sakaki's unable to do nice things? Or what?" Yomi responded in annoyance.

"See you guys in class," ZaXo said, waving to them both. He was already halfway down the hall, his arm wrapped around Sakaki.

"Hey, get back here! We're not done talking about you!" Tomo yelled after them.

When ZaXo and Sakaki walked through the door to Yukari's room, she greeted them with the usual. "Hey, you two better not end up making-out in the back of my classroom today!"

"Have we ever?" ZaXo questioned, Sakaki looking at her feet.

"No, but it's only a matter of time. Osaka and Haru do it practically every day."

"So then why couldn't we then, if we wanted to?" ZaXo responded. Sakaki's grip on his hand tensed up a little bit, but she didn't look up.

"Isn't it obvious? They don't get great grades in this class even when they _are_ paying attention. But you two do. If two of my best students start slacking off, I'll look bad!" Yukari shot at them.

"Don't you understand the importance of things like making-out in relationships?" ZaXo asked sarcastically. "I mean, you are married."

"Ahh, yes. I remember that type of 'young love'," Yukari said airily, reminiscing in her mind.

"Uh, but you weren't all that young when you met Todd," ZaXo explained, getting an extremely dirty look from his teacher.

"I was referring to the _love_ being young, not my age! And who said that I'm not young, you little brat? I don't look a day over twenty!"

"You're right. I'm sorry for thinking otherwise," ZaXo sassed, Yukari taking it as a legitimate apology.

"You should be," she muttered, getting up from her seat behind her desk.

"Miss Sakaki! You two can sit here!" came a high pitched voice from the front row. It was Kaorin.

* * *

_Everyone was buzzing with talk about Sakaki and ZaXo as they arrived at the school. To tell the truth, ZaXo didn't really want all of the attention, and he knew Sakaki wanted it even less. But they had quickly come to realize that the others had been waiting anxiously for this to happen. The only one who didn't seem to care a whole lot was Yomi, who looked at the others as if they were rude for gossiping so much._

"_Hey everyone!" Kaorin chimed, as they walked into Yukari's room. As per usual, her eyes darted between them all, looking for Sakaki. "How are you Miss Saka-" her voice trailed off as she noticed her heroin's hand wrapped around ZaXo's. Eyes going wide, Kaorin's breathing became extremely labored._

"_Are you okay?" Sakaki asked in concern, but Kaorin didn't say anything. She just pointed at the interlocked fingers, stuttering frantically._

"_Yeah, we know," ZaXo said jokingly, expecting Kaorin to start asking the same questions the others were; questions he refused to answer. There was no reason that any of them needed to know whether he thought Sakaki was a good kisser or not. Truthfully, he didn't even know anyway. They'd only been dating for around fourteen hours, half of which he was asleep at home for._

_Kaorin finally caught her breath, swallowing hard. "How?" she squeaked simply._

"_Chiyo, you probably should have just taped the whole thing for everyone," ZaXo said as he sat down, ready for more questions._

"_Miss Sakaki?" Kaorin whined, looking for answers. Sakaki looked at her friend, trying to find what words to use. But she didn't really know what there was to say._

_ZaXo and Sakaki sat down together, Kaorin quickly grabbing her things and sitting on Sakaki's other side. She didn't say anything else from then on. The frantic looking girl just stared at them with her mouth open for almost the whole class period._

_When the bell finally chimed, Sakaki and ZaXo got up to leave, ZaXo feeling mighty uncomfortable due to Kaorin's reaction. "Well, we've gotta go now," he started, as if talking to a young child. "We have to go to our next class."_

"_Wait!" Kaorin yelled. "Can I talk to you alone for a second ZaXo?" she inquired nervously._

"_As long as you stop staring at me like you want to eat my head," ZaXo chuckled, and the girl immediately readjusted her expression to look more normal. Sakaki left them alone, walking with the others out into the hallway. "So what did you need?"_

"_I just wanted to make sure you're going to treat Miss Sakaki right," Kaorin began simply. "I want to know that she's with someone who's going to take care of her. She deserves it."_

"_Of course, though I'm pretty sure Sakaki could take care of herself, even if I wasn't here," ZaXo explained, raising an eyebrow. Kaorin stared at him, waiting for a straight answer. "Yes, Kaorin. I will take care of Sakaki. I promise," ZaXo added robotically._

"_Good. But I'm watching you... if I find any evidence that tells me you're not treating her right..." Kaorin growled quietly. Her look was one of someone who was truly deranged, as if she had some sort of obsession with Sakaki._

"_Okay. I understand," ZaXo's voice cracked nervously, before he quickly walked from the room. He could feel Kaorin glaring at him from behind, even after he'd left._

* * *

When class had finally ended, ZaXo got up to leave, waiting for Sakaki before he started walking toward the exit. "Oh, Sakaki," came Osaka's wispy voice from across the room. ZaXo and Sakaki turned to face her, Haru following her toward them.

"Haru'n I were wonderin' if you guys wanted ta double date with us tonight," Osaka asked, looking happily toward her boyfriend.

"Yeah, we're going to go to the same restaurant we went to after we first met. You know; The Art Of Noodles?" Haru explained quickly, looking back and forth between them both. ZaXo glanced in Sakaki's direction, and she looked back at him. He could tell by her smile that she did indeed want to go.

"Alright, it sounds like fun. But what about the holiday party at Chiyo's?" ZaXo replied.

"It's cool," Haru grinned. "We're going to Chiyo's afterward. We'll meet you two at the restaurant around seven o' clock. Is that okay?"

"That's fine," Sakaki answered politely.

"Awesome!" Haru cheered. "C'mon babe," he said to Osaka, whisking her out into the hall.

* * *

It was finally that time; time for ZaXo's first real date with Sakaki. He could say that he wasn't nervous at all... but he'd be lying through his teeth. ZaXo's hands shook with anticipation as he buttoned up his outer shirt. Looking himself in the mirror, he grimaced and quickly unbuttoned it again. He stared at his hair, tending to it until he thought it was perfect. "Okay, I think I'm ready," he breathed deeply, psyching himself out. ZaXo walked down the stairs, and out the front door. He was halfway to the front gate when his mother stopped him.

"Honey, are you forgetting something?" she smiled sweetly, holding up a pair of shoes. ZaXo glanced down to find that they were the same shoes that were mysteriously missing from his feet.

"R-right," he stammered, running back up to grab them.

"You really like this girl, don't you?" his mother asked, sitting down next to him as he placed the shoes on his feet.

"Heh," ZaXo grinned awkwardly. "Yeah, I do," he stated, thinking back again to the day they began dating.

"Oh, c'mere!" Mrs. Ken'Ichi cried, her face going red. She gave her son a deep, loving hug.

"Aww, mom c'mon," ZaXo whined, though she only squeezed tighter.

"I'm sorry, but it's just so great to see you like this! You're so happy all the time now."

"And I wasn't happy before?" ZaXo joked, as his mother broke from their embrace to wipe a tear from her eye.

"Well, I hope things go well for you two. Sakaki's such a nice girl; she deserves someone as handsome and loyal as you."

"Um, I think I should just feel lucky that someone like Sakaki would ever go for a guy like me," ZaXo replied, as he waved goodbye and turned to go.

ZaXo quickened in pace, not wanting to be late in picking Sakaki up. In just a few minutes, he had arrived. ZaXo placed his finger on the call button for the house, staring through the big black iron gate toward the front door.

"Yes?" came a female voice from the tiny speaker.

"Mrs. Aiko? It's ZaXo. I'm here to pick Sa-" he began before correcting himself. "I'm here to pick Yoshiko up," he explained.

"Oh, of course. I'll open the gate right up for you ZaXo."

"Thank you Mrs. Aiko," ZaXo replied warmly. Almost immediately, the large gate began to open up. ZaXo walked inside and began to head for the front door. Sakaki's stepfather opened it seconds later, looking stalwart in both his size and stance. "Hello, Mr. Aiko. How are you?" ZaXo asked, uncalled-for fear entering his body. Though Sakaki's stepfather was an accepting, warm person, he was still extremely intimidating.

"I'm doing just fine. Come in," Mr. Aiko said casually. ZaXo slipped out of his shoes, and walked inside. "Yoshiko-Nyan is just finishing up. She'll be ready in just a minute."

"Um, Yoshiko... Nyan, sir?"

"Oh, that," Sakaki's stepfather gave a great laugh. "That's just something we started calling her because she's got such an obsession with cats. It's kind of funny, don't you think?" he chortled, patting ZaXo hard on the back.

ZaXo half laughed, half coughed, Mr. Aiko having just knocked the wind out of him. "Speaking of the little kitten-girl!" Mr. Aiko said loudly, looking upstairs. ZaXo's eyes followed suit, stopping at the very top. There stood Sakaki, smiling nervously.

ZaXo's breath left him once again, much quicker this time than when Mr. Aiko had hit him. Sakaki was wearing the most beautiful lavender dress he'd ever seen. The smooth, silky material shimmered in the light, small straps straddling her shoulders, and allowing her to show off her equally smooth skin. Her dress stopped just above the knees, petite heels on her feet that matched the color of the dress. To top it all off, Sakaki had added just a small wave to her hair, and placed a light-blue flower just above her left ear. She walked gracefully down the steps, looking at ZaXo's reaction the whole way. "Wow," he whispered in amazement.

ZaXo now began to feel that he'd under dressed, and his nerves piqued again. When Sakaki's parents rushed her to tell her how beautiful she looked, he quickly turned away to button his shirt back up. "You look so lovely!" Mrs. Aiko beamed. "I need to get a picture of this."

Sakaki's mother rushed for her camera. When she came back, she turned it on, and set everything up. But before she took the picture, she looked to ZaXo. "Go, on," she said, ushering him up next to Sakaki. "This is a memory for both of you after all," Mrs. Aiko explained, framing them in. She took a few pictures, even making ZaXo wrap his arm around Sakaki for one.

"Okay, I think that's about enough. They should probably get going," Mr. Aiko warned, snapping his wife from her stupor.

"Sorry, you're right. Have a great time you two," Sakaki's mother smiled, hugging her daughter one more time. She then suddenly embraced ZaXo as well, which came as quite a surprise. "Help her enjoy tonight, won't you?" she whispered in his ear, before pulling away. ZaXo nodded slowly, wondering what else he was supposed to do on a date. Sakaki grabbed her jacket, ZaXo helping her put it on.

As they made for the door, Mr. Aiko abruptly placed his hand on ZaXo's shoulder. He got his face close to ZaXo's ear, and began to speak quietly. "Now, you take care of her. If she regrets anything tonight, I'll make you regret it tenfold," he whispered threateningly.

ZaXo swallowed harder than he ever had. "That's what I'm supposed to say if I think you're trouble, right?" Mr. Aiko roared with laughter, his booming voice filling the room. "Good thing you're not... right?" he added, winking before closing the front door, and leaving ZaXo alone with Sakaki in the evening sunlight.

"What did he-" Sakaki began.

"Don't ask," ZaXo responded simply, unsure whether to actually trust Mr. Aiko's words or not.

The two of them walked toward the gate, which opened for them as they neared. They left the yard, and started for the restaurant, excited for their first date. "Might I just say, that you look... just, wow. I don't really know how to describe it," ZaXo admitted, causing Sakaki to blush. "I didn't think my little Yoshiko-Nyan could get any more beautiful than she already was. But boy, was _I_ wrong," he told her, grabbing her hand.

Sakaki's face shown a whole new embarrassment at his words. "Only my stepfather can call me Yoshiko-Nyan," she joked.

"Oh, I understand. I promise to never call you that again. Okay... Sakaki-Nyan?"

She gave him a playful look, as they walked on. After a few more blocks, they were finally at the front of the restaurant. Haru and Osaka were waiting for them, and they all went in and found a small corner to sit in, away from the commotion near the karaoke area.

Dinner went as expected, everyone having a great time laughing and conversing. It was a little strange to see how important Haru and Osaka's relationship actually was to them. Though Osaka may have been a little strange and air-headed at times; and Haru often lacked the ability to pay attention to pretty much everything, they seemed to take their feelings toward each other extremely seriously. The two knew how to hold their relationship together very well now. Seeing two people who were normally so out of it suddenly being so level headed was quite a sight to behold. ZaXo felt that he should take a few mental notes on how they kept it together so well.

After two hours, it was time to head to Chiyo's house. Haru and Osaka said their goodbyes, and left toward their respective houses in order to change and grab their gifts for everyone; ZaXo and Sakaki doing the same. They walked together until they got to Sakaki's house. "I'll meet you back here in fifteen minutes or so," ZaXo told her, turning to jog home.

"Wait, ZaXo," Sakaki stopped him, coming closer. They were all alone on the dark street, standing underneath a bright streetlight. "I kind of wanted to give you your gift right now."

"Oh, sure. Should I follow you inside, or wait out here, and you can bring it back out?"

Sakaki didn't answer, instead embracing ZaXo, and kissing him on the lips. Much like every time they did so, he felt a surge of life flow from his heart into his entire body, fireworks going off in his mind. But this time was different. He could sense her deep-seated passion for him more than ever. He knew Sakaki was feeling the same sudden burst of life within. He could feel their souls connecting, bringing them ever closer. But all too soon, they broke apart.

"Woah, my gift can't compete with _that_," ZaXo told her, taken aback by how strong that single kiss had been. "But I can give it to you here too," he explained. "I've thought a lot about this Sakaki. And I know you have too... though you'd rather not bring it up until you have no choice."

Sakaki looked at him curiously, their faces still inches apart. "While I could find a few reasons against this decision, there were many, many more reasons for why I'm making the right choice," he continued, heightening her confusion more with every word. "Sakaki," he smiled. "I could never bring myself to leave you behind... so I've decided to stay here in Japan after we graduate."

It took Sakaki a second to process what ZaXo had just said. But her face soon lit up, and she hugged him tightly. Sakaki didn't say anything, but ZaXo could feel that she was now crying silently. "I'm staying here, just for you my little Sakaki-Nyan," ZaXo whispered in her ear, holding her close.

* * *

**Okay, first thing's first. In case anyone was confused (I tried to make it as straightforward as possible), Mrs. Aiko is Sakaki's actual mother. So her family name before, was Sakaki (and before that, who knows). Mr. Aiko is her stepfather, therefore, his family name has always been Aiko. In my experience however, I've never met someone who took the last name of a stepparent. So Sakaki stays Sakaki. Please review, thank you very much. Hope You Liked :)**


	30. Returning Home

**More story! Yay! Not really a whole ton to say here (it's been like that for the last few chapters, hasn't it?) Anyway, everything Azumanga Daioh belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 29: Returning Home**

"Sakaki-Nyan? How are you today, Sakaki-Nyan?" Tomo poked fun at the embarrassed girl as they walked to school. "Is my favorite Sakaki-Nyan excited for school? How tall are you now Sakaki-Nyan?"

"You can stop now," ZaXo told her, sorry that he'd let the nickname slip out in the first place.

"But it's _so_ cute!" Tomo replied, grinning mischievously, before breaking out into song. "Sakaki, Sakaki, add a little Nyan. It's the perfect thing to turn a frown upside down! Sakaki, Sakaki, I'm such a big fan. She's the cutest in the world; she's Sakaki-Nyan!"

"Well, at least she's being nice," ZaXo whispered in his girlfriend's ear, before repeating Tomo's catchy jingle under his breath.

"See? It's contagious!" Tomo shouted, hearing ZaXo singing along. He simply looked at Sakaki and shrugged playfully, then started to sing louder. By the time they were at the school, both Tomo and ZaXo were marching in front of the group, singing the song as loud as they could. Sakaki sat in the middle of everyone, hiding from all of the eyes they were attracting.

"C'mon Sakaki-Nyan! We're the top of the class here; gone in just three and a half months. There's no reason to be embarrassed about anything anymore. Sing along with us. Be happy," ZaXo chimed, pulling on her cheeks so that it looked like she was smiling.

"Quite it," she finally giggled.

"There's the Sakaki-Nyan I wanna see. Don't be afraid to act like a child every once in a while," ZaXo told her, reaching for her hand. "Sing along with us, won't you?"

"I'd rather not sing a song about myself," she explained quietly, though she was still smiling widely.

"Alrighty then! Chiyo-Chan, what song's have you got for us?" ZaXo questioned loudly.

"Oh, I know the perfect one! Cooking is so fun, cooking is so fun..." she sang, ZaXo and Tomo joining in when they got the lyrics down.

"C'mon Sakaki-Nyan!" ZaXo said again, giving her a puppy-dog stare. The tall girl rolled her eyes, and started singing quietly with them, her face pink the whole time.

"What's all that racket?" Yukari yelled from her class as they closed in on the room.

"It's a song Chiyo-Chan came up with," ZaXo explained, everyone else still singing.

"Chihuahua? You did this? Ten push-ups; now!" Yukari growled, but they just ignored her, singing all the way to their seats. "Whatever," she sighed, knowing she couldn't stop them anyway.

They continued to sing right up until class started, finally low enough on energy that they needed a break to recharge. "Whew, that was fun, wasn't it?" ZaXo asked Sakaki, short on breath. She simply smiled and snuggled up closer to him, her face going pink from embarrassment again. "Yeah, I knew you'd find it fun," ZaXo said, as if she'd replied to him with words.

* * *

When the school day was finally over, Tomo was so happy that she started singing her Sakaki Anthem again. ZaXo didn't really feel like joining in, but it suddenly gave him a brilliant idea. "You know what? We need to get you to open up a little bit Sakaki-Nyan. I want you to be free to enjoy the small things in life more," he explained, Tomo stopping to listen in.

Sakaki didn't say anything, which caused ZaXo to break out in laughter. "See, that's exactly what I mean," he started. "Don't get me wrong. I like my quiet widdle biddy Sakaki-Nyan. But I don't want you to miss out on all the fun anymore just because you're afraid to join in."

"That's right!" Tomo shouted, giving Sakaki a thumbs up.

"So I think Tomo and I are gonna have to give you a crash course in happiness today," ZaXo continued, though Sakaki still didn't respond. "We're gonna take a walk around town, and try to find out what will make you more comfortable with yourself. I know you want to," he concluded, finally getting a reaction.

"That's fine," Sakaki muttered, her expression unchanging from her usual, faint smile.

Twenty minutes later, Tomo and ZaXo were waiting out in front of Sakaki's house. They had dropped their things off at their houses, and she was doing the same. However, she'd first wanted to grab something from inside, though she wouldn't specify what. After a short while, she casually walked out of her front door, Maya in her arms. "Ahh, so Maya makes you feel more comfortable," ZaXo stated inquisitively. "We're getting somewhere now."

"Sakaki, I've got a question for you," Tomo began, looking more curious than playful at the moment.

"Yes?"

"Isn't your mom allergic to cats? How come you've been able to keep Maya all of this time if that's the case?"

"Medicine," Sakaki declared quietly, saying nothing else.

"Alright, that's enough serious talk," ZaXo barked. "Let's go teach Sakaki-Nyan to come out of her shell."

"Yeah!" Tomo yelled, jumping up and down a few times before dashing off.

"Where're you _going_?" ZaXo asked her, raising an eyebrow. Tomo stopped, and placed her hand on her chin.

"Well... I dunno actually," she smiled wide, waiting for them to catch up. "It just felt like the right thing to do."

"Aha!" ZaXo gasped, holding up a finger. "Lesson one, Sakaki-Nyan; be spontaneous once in a while."

"But-" she started, looking worried.

"Ah-ah-ah. No 'buts' Sakaki-Nyan. I know you know how to be spontaneous. Or did you already forget about the 'gift' you gave me for the holiday?" ZaXo looked at her slyly.

"What? What gift?" Tomo questioned excitedly.

"Now's not the time Tomo. We've got a friend in need of our help," ZaXo explained urgently, turning back to Sakaki. "So, what's stopping you from being spontaneous now, Sakaki-Nyan?" he asked, pretending he was holding an interview microphone up to her mouth.

* * *

"There's just no breaking her," Tomo groaned an hour later, as they neared Azumanga High.

"Sakaki-Nyan, I think I've come to the conclusion that you just _hate_ fun," ZaXo agreed, looking at her in wonderment.

"I like fun," she stated quietly, though there was no hint in her voice that she even knew what that meant. "Just... different kinds of fun."

"Yeah, boring 'fun'," Tomo told her, placing her hands on her hips.

"That's not true," ZaXo defended Sakaki. "I enjoy the things Sakaki-Nyan likes to do," he said truthfully.

"You guys must be the most _boring_ couple in the world then," Tomo insisted, rolling her eyes and groaning.

"I... I'm not boring," ZaXo pouted. "I'm not boring at all, am I Sakaki-Nyan?"

"Of course not," she agreed encouragingly, quiet as usual.

"See, I'm not boring Tomo," ZaXo told her, puffing out his chest.

"How did this get turned on me all of a sudden?" Tomo inquired, mouth agape in amazement.

"Well-" ZaXo began, before he was interrupted.

"Excuse me," came a deep male voice from nearby. They all looked to the side, surprised to see a cop standing over them. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to ask you something," he continued.

"O-of course," Sakaki responded, as the officer seemed to be eying her the most.

"I was just wondering where you got that cat?" he asked curiously.

"Oh," Sakaki choked, looking down at Maya. "H-he's a mixed b-breed," she automatically told him, nerves getting the better of her.

"Okay, but where'd you get him?" the officer repeated.

"Pet Place."

"The street."

"A friend?"

All three of them simultaneously gave different answers, looking at each other in surprise. ZaXo was by far the most confused of the trio, as he'd just assumed a friend had given her the cat. Sakaki had never really brought it up. "She got him from a friend... at Pet Place... down that one... street," Tomo stuttered, failing to alleviate the problem whatsoever.

"What's going on here? That looks to me like a rare, Iriomote Cat," the officer explained, suspicion growing with each passing second.

"What?" Tomo chuckled nervously. "Of course not. That would be crazy. They don't even grow out here," she stammered pathetically as if she was referring to a plant. ZaXo meanwhile was wondering what the big problem was. Was this 'Iriomote' breed of cat so rare that they were illegal to own or something? Then it hit him... that's why Maya looked so strange when he'd first seen him. Glancing over at the cat, he realized what it was; his claws were always out. That was a trait of wild cats and wild cats only.

"May I see it?" the officer asked, and Sakaki reluctantly handed Maya over. The cop took a few seconds to look the cat over, coming to a conclusion fairly quickly. "This is an Iriomote!" he said, both in amazement, and in disappointment. "How did it get here?" he questioned seriously, not handing Maya back over. "Don't lie to me now."

ZaXo opened his mouth to help, but Sakaki grabbed his hand and shook her head. She then took a deep breath, and started to explain the whole story of how Maya had come into her possession. ZaXo had never heard any of it before, and he had to admit; it sounded a little farfetched. When she had finished, the officer looked astounded. "Are you really telling me the truth?" he asked, looking them all over.

"Sakaki's not the kind to try to lie her way out when she knows she's caught, sir... or ever for that matter," ZaXo explained, as Sakaki's stared at Maya in fear of what was coming next.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to do something about this. You know that this is a _big_ problem. Iriomote are endangered. There are only around a hundred of them left. You're not even supposed to _touch_ them," the officer explained. "You could go to jail for years for something like this."

Sakaki's mouth fell open, as she began to shake with fear. "But... I j-just," she stuttered helplessly. The cop looked her over in pity, seeing just how sorry she was, and just how much she seemed to love the Iriomote Cat in question. It wasn't really her fault that the cat had come into her possession in the first place anyway.

"Listen," the officer started quietly, handing Maya back over. "I promise not to say anything about this to anyone, if you promise to take the cat back to it's home," he said slowly. "I've got a friend in Okinawa who works at a preservation for Iriomote's; that's how I know so much about them. Let me call her up, and she can help you get Maya back to his home without anyone knowing. Plus, he'll be safe there. It's heavily monitored, so he'll always be taken care of. He can help revitalize his species."

Sakaki nodded slowly, staring down at Maya in despair. The cat snuggled up closer to her chest lovingly, not yet knowing what was in store for him.

* * *

"Well, this sucks," ZaXo groaned over the roar of the cargo plane they were now in. He and Tomo decided to go with Sakaki that weekend in case she needed any support. However, there was no way to easily get Maya back into Okinawa, and they ended up having to ride in the back of a private cargo plane. The officer had called his friend at the preservation up, and once she heard Sakaki's story, she was happy to help get them a way to smuggle Maya back. She was even nice enough to set everything up so that it seemed like they had just found Maya, looking sickly in the nearby jungle. It was much more than anyone could have hoped for. Rather than getting in trouble, Sakaki was able to give Maya a new home in his natural setting. But she wasn't so sure that it was worth the sadness she was beginning to feel.

When the plane finally landed, the three of them got off, the pilot quietly escorting them away before they could be seen by anyone. Tomo had researched ahead of time exactly where they were supposed to go, and they had been given explicit instructions on who to meet with. The woman they were looking for was named Dr. Minako Manami.

On and on they walked, unable to get a ride without possibly giving away that Maya was an Iriomote. Now that they were on Iriomote Island, most anyone could spot Maya for what he was from a mile away; despite the fact that even most of the people who lived there had never seen a real Iriomote Cat. Each time they heard a car, the three of them would quickly hide withing the jungle shrubbery. At least five miles had they walked, Tomo's phone reading six o' clock when they finally reached the preservation base.

ZaXo walked up to the small office building, Tomo and Sakaki hiding away for the time being. He stepped through the glass doorway, and nervously looked at the woman sitting at the front desk. This was his moment of truth. Sakaki's future as a free woman possibly hinged on whether he drew suspicion or not. "May I help you?" the woman asked him politely, seeing that he was foreign, and expecting him to be a tourist.

"Yes, I'm looking for Dr. Manami. Is she around?" he muttered, trying to act casual.

"What business do you have with her?" the women asked softly, no hint of suspicion in her voice yet.

"I found an Iriomote Cat nearby while taking a walk, and he looks sick. I was told she could help," he lied, his voice shaking.

"And may I ask who it is that's looking for her?" the woman continued, though something in her voice had changed slightly.

"Z-zaXo Ken'Ichi," he squeaked nervously. The woman at the desk looked at him for a few seconds. She stood up, and ZaXo could feel his heart beating in his throat.

"So you're the one with Maya?" she then asked, lowering her voice. "My name is Dr. Minako Manami," she explained, holding out a hand. ZaXo shook it, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Whew, for a second I thought I'd been caught," ZaXo responded.

"Where is he; the cat?" Dr. Manami inquired, stepping out from her desk, and walking to the front door.

"He's over there," ZaXo pointed, toward where Sakaki and Tomo were now stepping out of the foliage. They strolled up to the two girls, the doctor staring at Maya the entire time. When they got close enough, she reached out her arms. Sakaki reluctantly handed Maya over, her expression growing evermore sad.

"Oh, _wow_," the doctor started in a happy tone as she looked Maya over, not caring to elaborate. "Oooh, that's not good," she continued, her voice going serious. "Hmm, that's a surprise," she said neutrally, still talking to herself. After nearly five minutes of poking and prodding an uncomfortable Maya, Dr. Manami looked up to face Sakaki and the others.

"I'm surprised to say that you've taken fairly great care of this cat Ms. Sakaki. I never thought an Iriomote could successfully live in a city environment. It's particularly amazing how domesticated he seems."

"Thank you," Sakaki said, though she didn't seem to be very happy upon hearing this. ZaXo knew that, to Sakaki, it just meant she was one step closer to having to give Maya up.

"Well, I'll get him up to pace here. He'll be a regular Iriomote wild cat in no time. He needs to learn to live without a mother figure if he wants to live like the other Iriomote's, and maybe find a mate one day," Dr. Manami explained. "Anyway, I don't want you guys to miss your flight back, so I'll let you get going," she smiled.

"Wait," Sakaki cried, before catching her emotions. "Can I- can I say goodbye really quickly?" she muttered. Dr. Manami thought about it for a few seconds, looking at Sakaki's pale, desperate face.

"Alright, I guess that won't hurt," she smiled weakly, handing Maya back over. "Bring him inside when you're done."

Dr. Manami left the three of them alone, Sakaki looking at Maya, who made himself comfortable in her arms as if this was where he was expecting to stay. "We'll just give you two a minute alone," ZaXo told her, dragging Tomo with him into the shrubbery nearby.

ZaXo held his head down, trying to give Sakaki the privacy she deserved. But it was hard for him. He wanted so much to comfort her; it just wasn't the right time. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Sakaki was holding Maya much more tightly and lovingly than she ever had, speaking to him in pained whispers.

On the way back to the plane, silence ensued. Sakaki didn't want to talk, and nobody could blame her. The sun was setting when they finally boarded the back of the aircraft, which was now full of boxes and crates. Sakaki sat on one of them, ZaXo deciding to sit on the same one. He gave her some room however, expecting that she still wanted to be alone for the time being.

Sakaki simply stared into nothingness for ten or so minutes, ZaXo trying hard not to look at her, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable. Finally, the raven haired girl decided to speak up. "You guys were right," she spoke softly. ZaXo and Tomo stayed silent, waiting for Sakaki to feel ready to continue. "I should have learned to be more spontaneous. I could have spent more quality time with Maya. I could have made more memories; made his life easier," she explained quietly. The two of them could barely hear her over the roar of the propellers lifting them through the sky. "I could have given him so much more..."

ZaXo edged over toward Sakaki, now sitting right next to her. Suddenly, and without warning, she broke down, cradling herself in his arms. "No Sakaki. _We_ were wrong," ZaXo began. "You're perfect just the way you are. I mean, the doctor was amazed at how well you'd taken care of Maya; how happy he was. And without your kind, quiet nature, that police officer probably wouldn't have believed you were telling the truth. He could see your good, warm heart. You don't need to be spontaneous. You need only be Sakaki. That's who you _are_, and that's why we all love you."

Sakaki stayed crying in his arms, all the way back to the airport. ZaXo tried his best to be strong for her, holding back tears most of the way. He didn't want her to know how much it hurt him inside to see her so distraught. Nothing would have made him happier than to steal her pain away; take the burden unto himself. He wished he could make her happy again, but it just wasn't possible. She had to do that herself. All he could do is be with her during her time of need. ZaXo abruptly came to the realization that not everything in their relationship was going to be sugar and rainbows. There would be hurdles; and not all of them would be easy to jump over...

* * *

**So there it is. A nice mix of funny, and serious in my opinion. But I wanna hear yours. So please review by pressing the pretty white button below. There is absolutely no cost to you, and it will only take you a few minutes. Get your own review in while you can, because supplies won't last long. Lol, anyway, enough messing around. Hope you liked :)**


	31. The Beginning

**Hello everyone. This next section is made up of several linked chapters. Three chapters at once to be exact :O**

**Anyway, I won't take long here, as I want you to get started (there's a lot to read, and if I did my job right, you won't be able to stop at just one chapter). But I first have to give a big thank you to KittyAttack or her beta reading assistance. She helped me with all three of these chapters, and because of that, there's a little extra spice in them. *INSERT BIIIIIIIIG THANK YOU!* Anyway, everything Azumanga belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 30: The Beginning**

ZaXo held Sakaki tight as they sat in Yukari's classroom at the beginning of the day. He sat staring out of the window, remembering her reaction to letting Maya go. Sakaki's mood had been improving in the past month and a half since she had to release him, but everyone could tell she was still feeling the effects. He had obviously been an extremely close companion of hers; much closer than most everyone thought. Only Chiyo seemed to have truly known how much it would tear her tall friend up inside. Then again, when ZaXo looked back on it, Maya was the only cat who ever truly cared for Sakaki, so it should have been much more obvious. Everyone did their best to comfort her and make her feel better, and it seemed to be working okay.

The sudden chime of the school bell broke ZaXo out of his thoughts, bringing him back to what was going on around him. As he got up to leave class, he realized that he'd almost forgotten something.

"Hey Sakaki, d'you wanna hang out after school?" ZaXo questioned, seemingly out of the blue. He was hoping that spending time together would cheer her up a bit more.

"Oh, okay. That would be great. Where should we meet?" she asked shyly.

"Umm, how about we just walk home with everyone else, then we can head to either your house or mine."

"Let's go to your house. But can I pick something up from mine first?" she asked, in an even more timid voice than before.

"Yeah, of course. So, I guess that's the plan then," ZaXo replied simply, and they joined the others in the hall before their next class.

The day seemed to pass by very slowly from that point on. ZaXo grew more and more anxious to spend time with Sakaki with every passing hour. By the time his final class was over, he could barely hold his excitement in. He grabbed his stuff and left the room before stopping, and resting his back on the wall right outside the room. "Calm down," he told himself, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He always liked to spend time with her, but he knew this time would be different. Usually the others were with them at least part of the time. Though they had been dating for about seven months, they didn't actually get to spend much time alone. It was just nice to talk with her alone sometimes.

As he opened the door outside -the sun blinding him for a second-, ZaXo could hear Tomo in the distance, speaking enthusiastically as per usual. He couldn't help but smile, his moral extremely high at the moment. The groups staggered footsteps sounded quietly as they all walked through the park listening to Tomo talk about her grades, and her crazy plot to get them higher before they graduated. Osaka joined in, explaining her plan to break into the school and change her own grades. Laughter broke the air from everyone except for Chiyo, who clearly thought they were actually willing to try it.

The group split up at Chiyo's house, ZaXo and Sakaki turning to tell her goodbye. "What are you guys doing today Miss Sakaki?" Chiyo asked suddenly, knowing they were hanging out today.

Sakaki blushed heavily. "Well, we just want to spend some time together, and I've got something that I want to show ZaXo."

"Oh. I wish I could come, but my parents said I should to stay home today. They're leaving for two days, so they asked that I stay and watch the house," Chiyo explained, pouting a bit.

"Uhh, yeah, I wish you could come too," Sakaki lied, before they told her goodbye and went their separate ways.

"I'll be back in a second," Sakaki said when they arrived at her house.

"Okay. I'll be waiting here," he answered back as she quickly ran inside, and came back out a minute later with a big book in hand. "This is what I wanted to show you," she smiled, holding it out in front of her so that ZaXo could see.

"What is it?" he asked curiously. It looked fairly big, but it didn't have a title on it anywhere. Instead, Sakaki had glued a bunch of kitten cutouts all over the cover.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she smiled, reaching out for his hand.

Sakaki and ZaXo began to walk to his house, a few blocks further up. They talked about how well things were going in school and such on the way there. When they finally arrived, they went to relax in the living room. Sakaki proceeded to show ZaXo the mysterious book. It was full of pictures from when her and the others were in high school. There were pictures from Chiyo's summer home, and pictures of the culture fests. There were even some really funny ones that Sakaki had tried to take of a cat that wouldn't sit still. They looked at it all for quite a while. It was strange for ZaXo to see them all. It was almost as if with every explanation Sakaki gave of the photos, he could imagine himself there with them all.

At least two hours went by, but ZaXo didn't mind. He enjoyed looking through the memories of someone this close to him. He might not have enjoyed it as much if say Osaka or Tomo had shown him the photos, but something about Sakaki actually speaking freely and excitedly about it all, just made the whole thing... interesting. When they finally went through the book at least twice over, they started talking about the crazy memories that they both shared for another couple of hours. Life was interesting when you had friends like they did. Both Sakaki, and ZaXo thoroughly enjoyed the conversations they were having. They never hit any snags, everything going extremely smooth.

"Hey, look outside. It's getting dark out," Sakaki announced glancing at her cell phone for the time.

"Oh, are you wanting to go home now? I can walk you."

"No, I don't want to go home yet. But we should go take a walk," she replied longingly.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," ZaXo admitted, standing up.

Sakaki followed him outside, into the warm spring air. The two of them walked through the gate to his house, and just started wandering. They didn't really have a destination; both of them just happy being together. They walked hand in hand, silently watching the stars appear. The young couple enjoyed the comfort that came with simply having someone that was so near and dear to them.

Sakaki and ZaXo walked all the way through the park, until they had finally arrived at the school. "It's kind of funny that we somehow ended up here," ZaXo laughed quietly.

"I wonder how many times we've walked this route before? And it's almost over..." Sakaki said, gazing up at the massive college.

"Yeah," ZaXo whispered to himself. The two of them just looked at the school for a minute or so, before turning back into the park.

"D'you mind if we sit down here?" Sakaki pointed to a bench, as they neared the bend before the bridge.

"Of course not," ZaXo responded, both of them sitting extremely close. Sakaki leaned over and rested her head on ZaXo's shoulder. He responded by wrapping his arm around her, holding her tight. The two were there for about ten minutes before Sakaki drifted asleep. ZaXo looked at her and smiled. Instantly, lazy blissfulness enveloped him as well and within a minute, he was sleeping too.

ZaXo was the first to wake. He rubbed his eyes, and tried to stretch. But something prevented him from moving. He looked up, and noticed Sakaki laying next to him. She had her arms wrapped around him, her head on his chest. ZaXo fell off of the bench in shock, still unsure what to make of it all.

"Whoa! Sakaki? What are you...?" he started in surprise, before remembering what happened. His shout had woke the tall girl up, and she yawned before saying anything.

"Huh, ZaXo, what are you doing at my house before school…?" Sakaki slowed her speech when she saw where she was, "Oh, my! We fell asleep in the park?"

"I guess so. We didn't... do anything did we?" ZaXo asked, sleepy nerves and confusion getting the better of him.

"I don't remember anything…"

Relaxing, ZaXo sighed, "Good, neither do I. That's good. We just fell asleep."

"What time is it, ZaXo?" Sakaki wondered aloud.

"I still don't have a phone," ZaXo admitted, feeling a bit guilty.

"Oh, that's right. Sorry," Sakaki told him, pulling her phone out. "It's just after midnight!" she said in shock, standing up.

"We've got school tomorrow. We'd better get home," ZaXo warned, Sakaki nodding.

The two of them turned, walking quickly toward the bridge. Right as they rounded the corner, they saw someone walk across the brick structure, and stop right in the middle. The figure raised his arm, and suddenly, both ZaXo and Sakaki were blinded by a bright light. "Ugh, what's with the flashlight?" ZaXo groaned quietly, shielding his eyes. He wasn't able to see anything, the figure directing the light straight at their faces. "Can you please move that light?" ZaXo asked, figuring it was a cop or something. He waited for a few seconds, but the person didn't comply, instead simply giving a small laugh. ZaXo felt that he knew that voice, but he couldn't figure out from where. Before he could react, someone suddenly grabbed ZaXo from behind. The pair of arms swung around him and hit him hard in the chest, catching ZaXo by surprise. He heard Sakaki whimper from a few feet back down the path, before her voice was muffled.

ZaXo gasped in pain, as the grip around him tightened. He could hear someone moving through the trees to his right. ZaXo's attacker brought him closer to the bridge; closer to the man with the light. ZaXo was unable to move out of the hold he was in, and couldn't see what had become of Sakaki. The man then lowered his flashlight and put it away, as another rather large person walked out from the trees and stood next to him. The larger man looked like he was carrying something big, but ZaXo couldn't tell what it was, his eyes still trying to readjust. After a few seconds, ZaXo realized why he'd recognized the laugh. The man who ZaXo had fought with seven months ago now stood ten feet in front of him.

ZaXo was shocked to find that the thin man was holding Chiyo, whose mouth had been taped shut. She stared at ZaXo, tears running down her face, completely helpless. Anger coursed through ZaXo, but it was nothing compared to what he was about to feel.

ZaXo then recognized the figure in the large man's arms as Sakaki. Her head was hanging lifeless, as though she was dead. ZaXo's hurt and anger soared through the roof. It was too dark to see if she was breathing, which caused fear to spread through his body like wildfire.

"You! What are _you_ doing here? What in the hell did you do to Sakaki?" ZaXo yelled, unable to curb his anger. The man holding him tightened his grip, preventing ZaXo from moving an inch.

"First off, you will address me by my name; Takeshi... Yuu Takeshi. Learn it... and learn to _hate_ it," he growled maliciously. "Why does it matter to you what I did to your stupid girlfriend anyway? I'm in control now, so you'll do what I ask whether she's dead or not," he spat as his eyes narrowed.

"_What did you just say_?" ZaXo screamed, before another large man walked up from behind him, and turned to punch him in the gut.

"Shut your mouth, kid," he snapped in a brutish voice.

"Relax. Why would I kill her? I'm not insane. I wouldn't go through almost four years of work just for murder," Yuu explained as if he'd done nothing wrong. "At least, not unless you leave me with no choice," he cackled.

"What the hell do you want from us? Spit it out," ZaXo coughed, still in pain from being punched. ZaXo's mind was racing, though he was relieved to hear that Sakaki was alive.

"I just need you to perform one simple task for me, Mr. Ken'Ichi. All you have to do is go collect your other friends. Get them, and bring them to the old building that used to be the Pet Place. But tell them _nothing_, or Chiyo and Sakaki are as good as gone. You will be monitored while you're away, so watch what you say. The second that I find you've told them anything about what's going on, these two are over with," Yuu explained.

"What do you want them for? Why is it so important to you?" ZaXo asked simply, wondering where this was coming from.

"Well, I guess it won't hurt to tell you now that we're on my terms. It's actually a very interesting story. You see, my father has actually had people trailing the Sakaki's; or should I say the Aiko's for quite a while now," Yuu started, taking a few seconds to glare in Sakaki's direction. "Your little friend's real father was once part of Interpol... before he died anyway," Yuu roared in deranged elation. Just like usual, he was doing everything he could to get a rise out of ZaXo.

"Mr. Sakaki's last job was an attempt at breaking down a massive crime ring; led by my own father. The idiot took his own life, jumping in front of a gun pointed at a member of his team. _My_ father was holding that gun," Yuu stated proudly.

ZaXo was at a loss for words, only able to simply take everything in. He was glad that Sakaki couldn't hear anything being said at the moment. "Unfortunately, the attention that Mr. Sakaki brought to my father's gang prevented them from staying together. That gang was like family. He'd raised the organization from it's infancy like it was a child. Therefore, he vowed to take the same thing from Mr. Sakaki. Though Mr. Sakaki may no longer be alive, his family can still feel the sting of something dear to them being taken away!"

"You're sick!" ZaXo exclaimed in disgust.

"Oh, but you haven't even heard the best part. Don't you want to know about my genius plan to bring honor back to the Takeshi name? I've went through so much trouble to make this happen."

ZaXo stayed silent, trying to bide his time and think of a solution. "You see..." Yuu continued on ecstatically. "As I said before, we took everything slow, trying to find out everything we could about the Sakaki family."

ZaXo suddenly realized that Yuu must have been who they'd seen the day that they went to sign up for Pet Place volunteering. "Yes, that was me who was following you three and a half years ago," Yuu explained as if reading ZaXo's mind.

"Then... you broke into the shop that night?" ZaXo asked in shock.

"Hmm, you're not a complete idiot," Yuu smirked, giving ZaXo a small clap. "I just happened to be following Ms. Sakaki that day, when you all stumbled upon Pet Place. To my utter delight, you stopped in and wrote down all the information I needed on that little slip of paper. That was all I needed to get when I broke in. Knowing that you were all in line together made it easy to find your information ZaXo, and even little Chiyo's."

"I can't believe..."

"Oh, wait. There's more," Yuu smiled. "After I learned that you and Chiyo lived in the same neighborhood as Sakaki, I figured, 'why don't I make a profit from this as well?' The Mihama's in particular have a lot of money. Why, they're some of the wealthiest people in this part of Tokyo. So, let's just say she became somewhat of a priority as well."

"And?" ZaXo asked, still stalling, praying that someone would come by and see what was going on.

"And so I started having people follow you two as well," Yuu sassed in a demented tone. "As luck would have it, that risk was worth it. You just so happened to drop your key on the day you first went to volunteer at Pet Place. Therefore-"

"You used it to get into my house," ZaXo finished his sentence.

"Ooh, very good. Indeed I did."

"But why?"

"I wanted something; something to help me keep better tabs on you and your friends. By stealing your cell phone, I was able to find the names and numbers of everyone else you seem to care for; just in case I needed them as well. After reading through some of your text-messages to them ZaXo, I must say, you have an eclectic group of friends you spend time with," Yuu grinned.

"What kind of freak are you?" ZaXo hissed angrily.

"I'm no freak. I'm a _freaking genius_! But there's still a little more to it. You need only be patient with me for a short while longer."

Yuu waited for ZaXo to respond angrily, but ZaXo knew better than to take the bait. After a few seconds, Yuu decided to continue. "On that day when you humiliated me, things became a bit more personal. Sure, I want to help my father; and I want to make some money as well. But after you hurt my pride that day in this park seven months ago, I felt such a strong urge to make you pay. To make things worse on me, you and this stupid girl ended up an 'item' all because you'd made me look like a fool. I soon realized that this was a blessing in disguise however. It made everything so much easier. Once I had everything set up, it was just a matter of choosing the right time to strike. All I had to do was wait... wait until a night like tonight. I just needed you and Sakaki to be alone."

Yuu paused for a few seconds to revel in the glory that was himself. "And to further ease my burden, Chiyo's parents are out of town. So they could do nothing to stop me either," he cackled, stroking the small girl's chin. "Anyway, I think that should be about all I have to say. It's time for you to get your other friends."

"What? Why do you need to get the others involved in this? Leave them out of it!" ZaXo told him furiously.

"How stupid can you be? You, Sakaki, and young Chiyo alone are worth a load of money; but why shouldn't I go after a bit more? Besides, if your other friends' families can't pay the ransom money, I know that you three have parents who can pay _for them_!" Yuu laughed maniacally.

"You... you're getting them involved for money...? I'm not going to just hand them all to you. Screw off!" ZaXo said through clenched teeth. He was once again punched in the stomach by one of Yuu's minions for his words.

"I'm not only doing it for money. I'm also doing it because I know you'll _hate_ me for it. Regardless, you'd better do as I ask, simply because I tell you to. Or should I just... 'cut' to the chase?" Yuu asked, pulling a knife from his jacket, and placing it under Chiyo's neck. The poor girl stared down at the shining metal blade, unable to do anything. She simply whimpered, tears falling from her innocent eyes.

"Wait!" ZaXo gasped quickly. "Just one more question, and then... I'll do it."

"Yes?" Yuu responded politely, though he didn't move the knife.

"Why do I need to take them all to Pet Place?" ZaXo asked, desperately trying to find any way to take up more time. '_C'mon! Someone, anyone! Just turn the corner and see what's going on._' he screamed inside his head.

"That's more of just a preference of mine. Since Pet Place has been so helpful in my plan thus far, I figured, why don't I just make it my base of operations? Now... go get your other friends," Yuu finished, his words once again showing the psychotic nature his soul possessed.

"And don't you _dare_ underestimate me, ZaXo Ken'Ichi," Yuu added in a furious tone. "Let him go," he told his lackey, finally done with talking. His minion obliged, pushing ZaXo toward Chiyo's captor.

Yuu reached his hand into a different pocket from where he'd gotten the knife, and pulled out a piece of paper. "This is the list of people I want you to get. And remember; say nothing to them about what's happening. Now go."

ZaXo looked at the list, which only had four names on it; Yomi, Osaka, Tomo, and Kagura. He glanced one last time toward Sakaki, then to Chiyo. ZaXo was finding it extremely hard to breath, knowing what he was about to do.

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**Not gonna say a lot here. Please review, but wait until you've read the other two chapters. Hope you liked :)**


	32. The Choices We Make

**All things Azumanga belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 31: The Choices We Make**

The man who had been holding ZaXo followed him out to the end of the park... or so he thought. When he looked back, the man was gone, but ZaXo wasn't stupid enough to think for a second that he wasn't still being followed. His fear quickly began to rise up inside. How was he going to get out of this? And more importantly, how was he going to get his friends out of this? He decided that for now, all he could do was what he was told to. ZaXo one by one got his friends. Though it was extremely late, they listened to his words. He had decided on telling them that Sakaki, Chiyo and him had to talk to them about something extremely important. They all got dressed, and followed along. The only one left was Tomo, who really didn't like the idea of getting up in the middle of the night.

"Listen Tomo," ZaXo began quietly, the others conversing amongst themselves, and therefore not paying attention. "I didn't tell everyone else this, but Sakaki, Chiyo and I..."

ZaXo thought as quickly as he possibly could. What could he tell her to get her to come with? "We found a box of treasure buried in the park."

"Whatever," she scoffed, rolling her eyes, and attempting to close her front door. ZaXo grabbed it before it shut.

"No really. I wanted it to be a surprise, so don't tell the others. Would I really get you up this late for nothing?" he said quickly, trying to keep himself calm. Tomo looked at him for a second, sizing up his story. Finally her lips broke into a grin, and she rushed to get dressed as well.

"Why didn't Sakaki and Chiyo just come with you, ZaXo?" Yomi wondered aloud, while they walked to the Pet Place building. She wasn't very happy about being woken up. "And where _are_ we going?"

"Um, Sakaki decided that we should tell you everything at the old Pet Place shop," he lied, sounding immensely nervous.

"What? Why in the world...? What's this all about?" she asked curiously.

"Y-you'll see when we get there," ZaXo said shakily. He couldn't grasp why he was selling out his friends. What if Yuu decided to kill everyone anyway? But it was too late. If he did anything wrong, Chiyo and Sakaki were automatically...

It was unlikely that they would all find a way to escape when they got there. But there was no way that he could bring himself to knowingly sacrifice the other two.

When they arrived at the building entrance, ZaXo's nerves were at their peak. His heart broke with every joke the others made just behind him. They were so happy, and knew so little about what was going on. Yet he was tricking them into what could possibly be their demise.

"O-okay, c-c'mon," ZaXo stuttered, grabbing the door handle. He prayed that it was locked. Maybe he'd just dreamed what happened in the park. Maybe he'd brought them here for nothing. '_Please, please let it be locked._' he pleaded. Reality hit him hard when the knob twisted in his palm.

"ZaXo, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Kagura asked, looking a bit worried, as he slowly opened the door, revealing complete darkness inside.

"I-i'm just a little n-nervous..."

"Hmm, you guys must have 'dug up' something really good, eh?" Tomo grinned, rubbing her hands together. ZaXo felt so numb at the moment that he could do nothing but ignore her comment. Everything was like a nightmare he wished he could wake from. All around him, time was going so slow. It felt like it took years for them all to walk into the darkened building, though his mind was ironically racing at the speed of light.

"Why's it so dark? Is this some sort of late night surprise party?" Kagura questioned. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going, and bumped into ZaXo. "Hey, why'd you stop so quickly? I can't see anything, ya know!"

The lights flickered on, and ZaXo was once again directly in front of the only person on earth he hated more than he could describe. Sitting nearby was one other person; someone he cared for more than anything. Sakaki was on the ground, her hands and legs bound. She was now awake. Her look of surprise at seeing ZaXo walk in doubled when she noticed that everyone else was now with him. Chiyo-Chan was nowhere to be found.

It took the others a few seconds to process what was going on, everyone's faces going as pale as a sheet of paper. "What? Someone's got Sakaki! He must have heard about the treasure," Tomo yelled, looking at the grinning man in front of her. "Who are you?"

"Ahh, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Yuu Takeshi," the tall young man said, glancing in ZaXo's direction. "I'm the one that your dear friend ZaXo made a fool of that day in the park. Don't you remember? But now look who's just been made to look pathetic."

"What's going on?" Yomi squeaked in fear. Yuu sighed impatiently at her comment.

"I already told ZaXo all about it last time he was here with us. I'm tired of explaining, but surely he'll fill you in on everything," Yuu cackled, shoving the fact of ZaXo's betrayal in their faces.

"Last time he was here? What are you talking about?" Yomi asked, barely able to speak from fright.

"Oh, you see, ZaXo and I had a little deal. I told him all about what I've been doing the last four years; my attempts to get you all here. And in return, he _gladly_ brought you straight to me. Gya ha ha!"

"That's not true," ZaXo pleaded with them, but it was too late. The looks of shock on the faces of his friends quickly turned to hatred and disgust.

"You did what? We trusted you all of this time, and you 'gladly' sold us out?" Tomo yelled, as she turned to run. But instead of finding the door behind her, she found two of Yuu's minions blocking her only exit.

"H-how could you ZaXo?" Yomi asked as if he had just killed her best friend. Of course, as far as any of them could tell, he just had... all of them.

"I-I didn't mean it that way. He was going to hurt Sakaki and Chiyo if I didn't... I had no way- I'm s-sorry. I feel so-"

"I hope you feel worse than anyone can imagine. I can't believe that you would do this," Yomi interrupted. Her tone wasn't mean, but rather full of immense disappointment and feelings of betrayal.

ZaXo just wanted to just disappear. How could he do this to them? '_How could I sell everyone out?_' he thought angrily. Collecting everyone in order to save Sakaki and Chiyo seemed like a horrible idea now. Nobody could see any way out.

"Now that we have that out of the way, I'll explain why you're all here," Yuu smiled greedily. But before he could say anything, someone else stepped around him, out from the back room. ZaXo knew who he was immediately just by the way he looked.

"Allow me," came a deep voice from the old man. "My name is Kouki Takeshi."

ZaXo's suspicions were confirmed with that sentence. This was the other man responsible for everything that had happened; he killed Sakaki's father. Sakaki's eyes widened as she heard his name. The only explanation was that she recognized it from her father's last job with Interpol.

Kouki re-explained what Yuu had told ZaXo in the park, and then told them that they were supposed to call there parents one by one, and explain to them what was going on. Then they were suppose to instruct their families on how they could get their kids back safely. ZaXo doubted they would all be going home, even if everything went according to Kouki's plan. Yuu didn't seem like the type to just let everyone go.

Yuu's lackey's escorted everyone to the back room, taking off Sakaki's bindings, and forcing them to sit down in a circle with their backs to each other. All of the men then left the room with Kouki. The only one left was Yuu, but that didn't mean he was outnumbered. ZaXo couldn't help but fear where Chiyo might be, but there was nothing he could do about it at this point. Everyone each took turns using ZaXo's newly recovered phone to call their parents. Nobody was allowed to say more than was needed. As Osaka called home, ZaXo edged himself closer to Sakaki.

"Listen Sakaki. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. God, I wish I could..." he was unable finish the sentence. What could he say; that he wished he could take back his choice in bringing everyone else to Yuu? If that was the case, Sakaki would probably be dead right now.

"I just... I know nobody here will forgive me, but I'm going to find a way out of here for all of you, no matter what," ZaXo whispered, grabbing her hand.

"It's not your fault that these people are pure evil," Sakaki replied quietly, shaking violently with fear. "You did what you felt was right. You did what anyone would have done."

"I'm not so sure of that. Damn, I just wish I could get us out of here!" ZaXo started, but he was interrupted by Kagura. She looked positively shattered inside, tears endlessly pouring from her eyes, as she handed Sakaki the phone. Sakaki called her parents, and then gave the phone to ZaXo.

ZaXo began dialing his number, when Yuu stopped him. "Don't forget to tell them why everyone else is in this mess in the first place," he chortled.

"I'm no longer listening to _scum_ like you," ZaXo responded viciously.

"Uh-uh. You'd better watch what you say," Yuu told him, clicking his tongue in dislike.

ZaXo finished calling his parents, looking furiously at Yuu the whole time. When he was done, Yuu snatched the phone back. "No negotiations are going on here!" he cackled, breaking the phone in half.

"Umm, sir?" came the voice of one of Yuu's grunts from the doorway. "Your father wants to speak with you about something."

"What does he need now? I'm kind of in the middle of something," Yuu responded in annoyance.

"Well, he says that it's urgent, sir. It's about the Sakaki girl," his minion responded nervously.

"Ugh, fine! Will you at least watch everyone here while I'm gone?" Yuu snapped, walking toward the door.

Yuu left the room, his follower taking position at the only exit. "Now's our chance," ZaXo whispered to himself. He turned to Sakaki, and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to rush this guy. When I do, I need you to get everyone here as far away as possible Sakaki. I'm gonna try to find Chiyo."

"_What_?" she questioned as if he was insane.

"Just do it," he said simply, taking one last look at her. He didn't want her to try and talk him out of it. He _couldn't_ let her talk him out of it. Everyone was there because of him, so it was his job to get them out.

ZaXo didn't think it was a very good plan, but he knew it was better than doing nothing. When Sakaki passed the message to everyone else, he got ready. "ZaXo, be careful. I want to be able to see you tomorrow," Sakaki told him.

"Don't worry about me, focus on yourself and the others. I just want you all to be _alive_ tomorrow," he replied.

ZaXo readied himself, and stood up as quickly as he could. Before the man guarding the door could react, ZaXo ran head-first into his gut. With a deep moan, the guard doubled over in pain. ZaXo took the man's head, and smacked it against the door jam, knocking the guy out. "Wait!" ZaXo whispered at the others, putting his ear to the door. He could hear the two other guards outside mumbling.

"Everyone hide," he told them, the girls sidling themselves against the wall with the door on it.

"When they come in, we need to get the jump on them," Kagura explained quietly, rolling up her sleeves. ZaXo nodded, and they all waited silently. The voices got louder outside, until finally, the door flew off of it's hinges with a bang, two large men dashing inside.

Their expressions turned to shock and amazement when they saw the empty room. Before either of them could react, ZaXo and the others rushed the two men. As quickly as they could, they took them out. "Wow, that was easier than expected," Kagura smiled, before remembering that they weren't out of the woods yet.

Everyone rushed through to the front of the shop, Sakaki the last one still inside. "Wish me good luck," ZaXo said as he opened the door into the kennels downstairs. He knew the building fairly well, and guessed that they'd be holding their 'VIP' down there, as there wasn't really anywhere else Chiyo could be.

"I'm going with you," Sakaki announced.

"It's too dangerous," ZaXo told her seriously.

"Chiyo's my friend too. I want to help!" Sakaki pleaded. ZaXo could see the determination in her eyes. Though he hated to think of putting Sakaki in any more danger, it didn't seem like he had any choice.

"Alright, but stay close to me."

Sakaki nodded, and they ran down the stairs as fast as they could. "What's going on?" came Yuu's voice from down the hallway upstairs. ZaXo hurried down into the kennel area, turning the first light on. It lit the first third of the room up. The rest of the room was fairly dark, but ZaXo figured it would be enough for what they needed to do.

"Chiyo?" he called out, looking for movement.

"Z-zaXo?" came a whimper from the kennel all the way at the end of the room. "ZaXo, is that you?"

ZaXo and Sakaki rushed toward the rear of the room, following Chiyo's small voice. "It's okay Chiyo. We're here to get you out," Sakaki stated, trying to comfort her friend.

"M-Miss Sakaki? Is that you?" Chiyo cried happily from inside the cage. "Oh, thank you so much for coming to help me. I was so scared that I was going to..." her voice trailed off. "But I knew you'd guys would come for me! I just knew it."

From what little light they had, they could see that Chiyo was covered in dirt, and her clothes were slightly ripped. It looked like they just threw her in there, not caring whether she was okay or not. She was shaking, and tears were still running down her dirty cheeks. "Okay Chiyo, we're going to get you out of here. Do you know where the key to this thing is?" ZaXo inquired, but he was about to find out without her answer.

"Dammit!" Yuu yelled from the top of the stairs.

"Chiyo get back. Sakaki, come here," ZaXo whispered as quietly as he could, leading Sakaki into a nearby kennel that was in the shadows; but he wasn't quiet enough. Yuu's feet appeared at the top of the ceiling, as he rushed down the stairs. "Get out here!" he roared as he entered the room. "Get out here now ZaXo. I know you're down here. If you don't come out now, I'll end Chiyo's precious little life!"

ZaXo stayed hidden. His plan was to rush Yuu when he got close enough. Unfortunately, Yuu stopped in the middle of the room. Seconds went by, and nothing happened. "Are you sure you wanna play this game?" Yuu yelled, and wrapped his arm around his lower back. ZaXo then heard the telltale sound of a pistol being cocked, catching him by surprise. He signaled for Sakaki to stay put, and edged his way toward the door of the shadowy kennel. "Fine. Have it your way!" Yuu said, raising the gun.

"What's wrong with you?" ZaXo yelled through clenched teeth, as he burst from the kennel.

"Nothing's wrong with me. You're the one who can't just follow orders. Do you _want_ to get your friends killed?" Yuu screamed, still aiming the weapon in Chiyo's general direction.

"You would have killed us anyway, and you know it. I didn't change anything by trying to help them get away!"

"Well why should I let them live? If you don't keep your end of our bargain, why should I?" Yuu replied psychotically.

"_Bargain_? What bargain? We had no choice in this matter. So if I have to play your sick games, I'm _not_ playing by your rules!"

"Ahh, so you must be trying to become the so called 'hero' today right? Too bad you won't live to earn that title," Yuu responded harshly, aiming the weapon at ZaXo.

ZaXo dived to the side as the gun fired. The bullet narrowly missed him by inches, Yuu cursing, and readjusting. "What the hell is going on?" came a deep yell from the stairs behind Yuu. It was Kouki. ZaXo used the distraction, lunging in Yuu's direction and knocking the gun out of his hand. It slid across the floor, and into the darkened area of the room.

Yuu swung a punch at ZaXo who ducked, and returned the favor. Yuu stumbled from the hit, giving ZaXo the chance to wrap his arms around around his neck. Before he could react, ZaXo got an elbow in the gut, loosening his grip. Yuu broke free of the hold, turning to face his enemy. Just then, Kouki grabbed ZaXo's arms from behind, locking them in position at his back.

ZaXo roared as he tried to get free, but Yuu punched him in the stomach. He cackled in delight, as he repeated the punch once more. Kouki stood silent, refusing to let ZaXo go. Suddenly, Sakaki jumped out from the shadows, taking Yuu by surprise. She leaped onto his back, causing the tall man to lose his balance. Yuu fell to the floor, a key dropping out of his coat pocket. ZaXo finally slipped his arms free, and dived for the key, before his enemy could grab it. Both of the men scrambled for the little piece of metal, pushing at each other with one arm, while grasping at the key with the other. Yuu was the first to get a finger on it, though ZaXo elbowed him in the face, throwing him off for a second. ZaXo took the chance and lunged for the key. As soon as he had it in his hand, he tossed it into the shadows, where none of them could find it.

"No!" Yuu screamed, standing up and pushing Sakaki out of the way. He started to run into the darkness in search of the key, but ZaXo grabbed him by the ankle, forcing him to the ground. Yuu rolled over, trying hard to kick ZaXo in the chest. His foot made contact, and Yuu quickly jumped on top of his opponent, ready to start pounding fists into his face.

"Dammit Yuu. Take care of the girl!" Kouki shot angrily. But Yuu refused. ZaXo had made him look like a fool too many times. He no longer cared about anything but payback.

Anger coursing through him, Kouki ran at Sakaki. He grabbed her by the neck, and pinned her to the wall. But his hold didn't last long, Sakaki kneeing him in the stomach. Kouki let go, falling to his knees. So deep in survival mode, Sakaki simply let go of all restraint, and kicked the old man in the face, knocking him out.

Two feet away, ZaXo was having an extremely hard time fending his attacker off. He'd grabbed Yuu by the wrists, preventing him from throwing any punches. Unfortunately, this made it so that he couldn't attack at all either. "ZaXo!" Sakaki yelled, turning to help him.

"No!" ZaXo shouted at her. "Get the key. Get Chiyo out of here!"

Sakaki nodded, and flicked a switch on the wall, bathing the rest of the room in light. ZaXo was finally able to throw Yuu off, the thin man standing up extremely quickly. He reached into his pocket, and once again pulled out the knife he'd had earlier. "I've just changed the game, haven't I?" Yuu cackled.

"Not quite," ZaXo responded, rushing his opponent. Yuu -who'd expected ZaXo to be kept at bay by the sight of the knife-, wasn't ready for the attack, and took the tackle straight up. ZaXo quickly pinned Yuu's arms to the wall, looking over at Sakaki. "Sakaki, hurry!" he yelled, putting all of his strength into keeping Yuu at bay.

Yuu fought back, quickly getting one arm free, and punched at ZaXo's face. ZaXo tried to dodge by tilting his head back but the fist still made contact, getting him square across the cheek bone . ZaXo's eyes began to water as Yuu freed his other arm, and swung the knife in ZaXo's direction. Unable to see clearly, ZaXo was forced to stumble backward in order to avoid the blade. As ZaXo fell over, Yuu turned to face Sakaki. The girl had finally got the cage unlocked, grabbing Chiyo's hand and helping her up.

"_Run Sakaki_!" ZaXo screamed, kicking the distracted Yuu in the calf. Yuu's leg buckled, and ZaXo pinned him to the ground. "And _don't_ come back for me!"

Both of the men were exhausted, giving it everything they had. Sakaki ran upstairs with Chiyo behind her, noticing a slight haze in the air upstairs. The temperature was a tad warmer than it had been a few minutes ago. But they didn't have time to contemplate what was going on, the two of them sprinting out of the front door. She told Chiyo where she could find the others hiding, planning to go back in for ZaXo. But before she could go anywhere, Kagura and the rest came rushing around the corner. "What are you all still doing here?" Sakaki asked urgently, but nobody was paying attention. The second they saw that Chiyo was safe, they surrounded her, smothering her with hugs.

ZaXo meanwhile, was having trouble with Yuu. It was too hard to do anything offensive, as he had to be extra mindful of the knife in his hand. Yuu finally got the better of him, and forced them to roll over, so that he was in the upper position. He swung the knife down at ZaXo in a stabbing motion, but ZaXo grabbed his arm, stopping the knife inches from his chest. The struggle to keep the knife from piercing his skin seemed to be even, but Yuu kneed ZaXo hard in the gut, throwing him off for a split second. "Die!" Yuu shrieked. With an extra burst of strength, Yuu forced his arms downward and plunged the knife deep into ZaXo's flesh. ZaXo screamed in agony, searing pain coursing through his entire body. His shirt quickly became blood-soaked where the knife had entered, somewhere near his heart...

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**Please review after you read the next chapter. Hope you liked :)**


	33. What Doesn't Kill You

**All things Azumanga Daioh belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

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**Chapter 32: What Doesn't Kill You...**

**Actual Chapter Ending:**

Yuu pulled the knife out, and ZaXo screamed even louder. He knew that he was lucky to still be alive, and refused to give up. His attacker swung his arms upward, ready to stab him again. That's when ZaXo saw an opening. He lifted his knees and feet under Yuu's stomach, and kicked hard. The thin man flew up into the air and smacked his back against the wall, his head hitting the concrete bricks. Now that the knife wound was open, blood was gushing out of the deep cut. ZaXo could feel that it went quite a ways in. Trying to keep his composure, he attempted to stand up. Almost immediately the loss of blood, and searing pain caused ZaXo stumble.

Yuu was attempting to stand up straight, though hitting his head had dazed him quite a bit. He suddenly remembered his gun, and went charging for it. ZaXo punched him in the side before he could reach the weapon. ZaXo had to hold in a shriek of pain, such violent motions jarring his new-found injury. Yuu stumbled from the hit, dropping his knife. ZaXo mustered up what little strength to fight he had left, and slammed his elbow hard against Yuu's face. Yuu gave out, hitting the floor one last time, right next to the kennel Chiyo was in just a minute ago. He was out cold. Slowly, ZaXo began climbing the stairs, wondering if he would live as double vision set in.

As he clambered up the steps, ZaXo started to feel a strange sensation on his skin. The air was getting quickly warmer with each passing step. He peeked through the door into the entrance room, to find everything covered in a deep gray smoke. He could see flames licking the walls down the hallway, and couldn't help but wonder why. Suddenly, two of the three guards came bursting out of the back room, finally awake. They were coughing from the smoke, but quickly went back into attack mode as they saw ZaXo nearby. He rushed for the front door, not looking back to see what they were doing.

Back outside, the sun was just starting to rise. All of the girls were delighted to see Chiyo safe. Yomi was the only one to notice Sakaki looking slightly angry. "What's wrong Sakaki?"

"I told you to hide. Why are you all still here?" Sakaki questioned desperately.

"We couldn't just leave you here. Where's ZaXo?" she inquired, ready for the worst. Sakaki looked worriedly back toward the building, who's windows were steadily getting hazier.

"He's still inside. He was fighting Yuu when Chiyo and I ran. I'm really worried. I want to go back inside and help him, but he told me to escape along with all of you."

Yomi hesitated before finally speaking up. "Well, I'm sure he'll be okay. He's a strong person."

"I'll call the police for help!" Tomo announced, pulling out her phone.

Everyone started to run away, Tomo talking to an officer over her cell-phone. Sakaki gave one last fleeting look at the building before she turned the corner around the tall wall fencing in the yard. At that moment, Sakaki caught sight of ZaXo covered in blood, clambering out of the front door, coughing from the smoke billowing out behind him. She gave a great gasp, and ran back to him. ZaXo slammed the door behind himself, grabbed her hand, and started to run even though he was in immense pain. The others were about a block away, when they noticed Sakaki was missing and turned around to go back.

"Sakaki we need to get out of here. We need to go fast," ZaXo wheezed, trying to stay conscious.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at the smoky building windows. She then glanced down at his shirt, which was soaked with a deep crimson stain. "Is… is that your blood?" Sakaki asked nervously.

"No time to explain. Two of Yuu's men saw me go out the door, and they're bound to come after us. We need to move fa-"

Just as ZaXo was about to finish, he heard the two men bash the door open. "Faster!" ZaXo yelled, using every ounce of energy he could muster to keep running. He looked back to see the men turning the corner around the wall and gaining fast. In front of ZaXo, the others were running back toward them. He signaled for them to turn around, but just then Sakaki tripped. ZaXo stopped to help her up, but before he could do anything, one of the men hit him over the head with the plastic pipe he had grabbed from the building. ZaXo fell to the ground, stars sparkling in his eyes. He heard Sakaki scream, but as he tried to get up, ZaXo lost consciousness.

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'_I feel really relaxed right now. This is nice._' ZaXo thought to himself. He began to wake up slowly, opening his eyes. He tried to sit up, but the searing pain in his chest that followed prevented him from doing so.

"He's awake you guys!" ZaXo heard someone next to him yell. He could hear the others gasping and looked around. Everything was too bright and blurry to see, but that voice was unmistakably Tomo's. He rubbed his eyes, and things became clearer. He was in what looked like a room at the hospital, and all his friends were there... all except Sakaki. He then remembered her screaming right before he'd passed out. Though it hurt him, he sat bolt upright.

"Where's Sakaki?" he asked hurriedly. ZaXo pretended he was ready for the worst, though he knew that deep inside he couldn't handle it.

"Oh, she we-" Yomi began, but she was interrupted when the door to the room opened, and in walked Sakaki carrying a tray of food.

"Oh," Sakaki said, noticing ZaXo was awake and beginning to blush. The others resumed talking with one another like they were a minute ago. "I just got everyone food. If I would have known you were going to wake while I was gone, I would have gotten you some."

"It's okay Sakaki. I'm not hungry. I'm just glad you're alright."

"I'm glad you're okay too. The doctors did their thing, and then gave you this room to yourself. You've been asleep for about six hours," she explained, sitting next to him on the edge of the hospital bed.

"What happened after I got knocked out?" ZaXo asked curiously, getting straight to the point.

"Well, when I fell, the one man ran up to me and tried to take me back toward Pet Place. But Tomo saved me by throwing a rock. It hit him on the head, and he dropped me. Luckily, a team of police officers was already on their way because someone nearby had heard Yuu's gun go off. Not to mention the giant fire."

ZaXo looked at her in confusion, and Sakaki knew he wanted to know more about the fire. "Apparently, either Kouki or Yuu had been smoking in the office down the hall when we tried to escape. They forgot to completely put it out before they ran downstairs," Sakaki told him. "Anyway, the police cornered the two men outside, and called for backup. Kouki, Yuu, and the last man were caught as well. They were found frantically trying to escape from the burning building."

ZaXo stared, eyes wide in amazement. "Everything is taken care of," Sakaki finished, looking happily at him.

Out of the blue, Chiyo walked up and hugged ZaXo warmly. He yelped in pain, and she quickly jumped away and apologized, clearly embarrassed. "No don't worry, Chiyo. I can deal with the pain. I'm just glad you're safe. Now give me another hug," ZaXo said warmly.

"Oh, thank you so much Mr. ZaXo! I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you. If it weren't for you, I would have been..." Chiyo stopped, swallowing hard.

"I didn't do everything Chiyo. In fact, I couldn't have done _anything_ if it wasn't for Sakaki. Everyone did their part. All I really managed to do was get myself stabbed," ZaXo joked.

"That's not true at all," Chiyo responded nicely. "But, yes, everyone else certainly did a lot as well. Thank you Miss Sakaki," Chiyo smiled, running over and giving her a big hug too. ZaXo couldn't help but feel that she seemed strangely happy for someone who'd been through so much. Therefore, when she and Sakaki broke apart, he decided to ask about it.

"Chiyo, aren't you scared that something else may happen to you? I know I'll always be a little worried deep inside," ZaXo admitted.

"I was at first. But I figure, there's no use in basing my life on that fear."

"That's a wise way to look at things," ZaXo told her, impressed that she was so strong.

"I'm sorry we were so rough on you earlier ZaXo. You did what you had to do to keep Sakaki and Chiyo safe," someone quietly announced in his ear. It was Tomo.

"No worries Tomo. I understand why you didn't want to trust me. Though I'm still not sure that I did the right thing," stated ZaXo, lowering his gaze in disappointment.

Everyone decided to take the day off from school, and spent it keeping ZaXo company at the hospital. He would be there for a while after all. ZaXo watched as the regular antics everyone was famous for went on. No matter where they were, everyone in that room seemed to be partially insane; and ZaXo loved it.

ZaXo looked about the room, watching everyone, just enjoying the fact that they were nearby. Eventually his eyes stopped on Sakaki, who was standing by the open window, gazing at the beautiful day outside. ZaXo simply stared for a while, as Sakaki's hair waved in the gentle breeze. He wished he could just bottle that moment up and keep it forever.

Finally, ZaXo decided to go talk to her. He tried to muster up all the strength he could. Standing up slowly and painfully, ZaXo walked over to her, resting himself against the wall. "H-hey Sakaki," he finally called out to her. She jumped slightly at his voice, not expecting him to have gotten up.

"Oh, ZaXo, you startled me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. So what are you doing?" he inquired gently, trying not to sound like he was prying.

"I'm just thinking. What happened was a lot to take in. I still feel like it was just a dream, you know?" Sakaki replied. ZaXo could hear a hint of fear still lingering in her voice.

"Heh, I would too, if it wasn't for this very real injury," ZaXo joked, looking at the body wrap on his chest.

"How is it by the way? Are you feeling better? D-does it really hurt as much... as much as it looks like it does?" Sakaki stuttered, as if she was stumbling on a rough subject.

"Nah. I mean, yeah it hurts, but compared to if it was an inch lower... being hurt bad is better than being dead, I'd say."

"I'm really glad you're okay ZaXo. I don't know what I, uh, I mean, _we_ all would have done if you had..." Sakaki started, sounding really nervous, like she was trying to get up the courage to say something personal. She slowly turned to him, and stared into his eyes. "ZaXo... promise me that you won't die. We... _I_ care too much. Promise me you'll live forever."

ZaXo didn't know what to say. He knew Sakaki realized this was impossible, but was it really worth telling her that? "Of course, Sakaki. As long as you're here with me, I'll have the strength to live for an eternity," ZaXo promised her, wanting more than anything to believe it was true, so that Sakaki had nothing to worry about.

"Thank you, ZaXo," Sakaki whispered simply, looking back out of the window. ZaXo went and laid back down, continuing to enjoy the company of his best friends for the rest of the day.

**Just for fun 1:**

Yuu pulled the knife out, and ZaXo screamed even louder. He knew that he was lucky to still be alive, and refused to give up. His attacker swung his arms upward, ready to stab him again. That's when ZaXo saw an opening. He lifted his knees and feet under Yuu's stomach, and kicked hard. The thin man flew up into the air and smacked his back against the wall, his head hitting the concrete bricks. Now that the knife wound was open, blood was gushing out of the deep cut. ZaXo could feel that it went quite a ways in. Trying to keep his composure, he attempted to stand up. Almost immediately the loss of blood, and searing pain caused ZaXo stumble.

Yuu was attempting to stand up straight, though hitting his head had dazed him quite a bit. He suddenly remembered his gun, and went charging for it. ZaXo punched him in the side before he could reach the weapon. ZaXo had to hold in a shriek of pain, such violent motions jarring his new-found injury. Yuu stumbled from the hit, dropping his knife. ZaXo mustered up what little strength to fight he had left, and slammed his elbow hard against Yuu's face. Yuu gave out, hitting the floor one last time, right next to the kennel Chiyo was in just a minute ago. He was out cold. Slowly, ZaXo began climbing the stairs, wondering if he would live as double vision set in.

As he clambered up the steps, ZaXo started to feel a strange sensation on his skin. The air was getting quickly warmer with each passing step. He peeked through the door into the entrance room, to find everything covered in a deep gray smoke. He could see flames licking the walls down the hallway, and couldn't help but wonder why. Suddenly, two of the three guards came bursting out of the back room, finally awake. They were coughing from the smoke, but quickly went back into attack mode as they saw ZaXo nearby. He rushed for the front door, not looking back to see what they were doing.

Back outside, the sun was just starting to rise. All of the girls were delighted to see Chiyo safe. Yomi was the only one to notice Sakaki looking slightly angry. "What's wrong Sakaki?"

"I told you to hide. Why are you all still here?" Sakaki questioned desperately.

"We couldn't just leave you here. Where's ZaXo?" she inquired, ready for the worst. Sakaki looked worriedly back toward the building, who's windows were steadily getting hazier.

"He's still inside. He was fighting Yuu when Chiyo and I ran. I'm really worried. I want to go back inside and help him, but he told me to escape along with all of you."

Yomi hesitated before finally speaking up. "Well, I'm sure he'll be okay. He's a strong person."

"I'll call the police for help!" Tomo announced, pulling out her phone.

Everyone started to run away, Tomo talking to an officer over her cell-phone. Sakaki gave one last fleeting look at the building before she turned the corner around the tall wall fencing in the yard. At that moment, Sakaki caught sight of ZaXo covered in blood, clambering out of the front door, coughing from the smoke billowing out behind him. She gave a great gasp, and ran back to him. ZaXo slammed the door behind himself, grabbed her hand, and started to run even though he was in immense pain. The others were about a block away, when they noticed Sakaki was missing and turned around to go back.

"Sakaki we need to get out of here. We need to go fast," ZaXo wheezed, trying to stay conscious.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at the smoky building windows. She then glanced down at his shirt, which was soaked with a deep crimson stain. "Is… is that your blood?" Sakaki asked nervously.

"No time to explain. Two of Yuu's men saw me go out the door, and they're bound to come after us. We need to move fa-"

Just as ZaXo was about to finish, he heard the two men bash the door open. "Faster!" ZaXo yelled, using every ounce of energy he could muster to keep running. He looked back to see the men turning the corner around the wall and gaining fast. In front of ZaXo, the others were running back toward them. He signaled for them to turn around, but just then Sakaki tripped. ZaXo stopped to help her up, but before he could do anything, one of the men hit him over the head with the plastic pipe he had grabbed from the building. ZaXo fell to the ground, stars sparkling in his eyes. He heard Sakaki scream, but as he tried to get up, ZaXo lost consciousness.

* * *

'_I feel really relaxed right now. This is nice._' ZaXo thought to himself. He began to wake up slowly, opening his eyes. He tried to sit up, but the searing pain in his chest that followed prevented him from doing so.

"He's awake you guys!" ZaXo heard someone next to him yell. He could hear the others gasping and looked around. Everything was too bright and blurry to see, but that voice was unmistakably Tomo's. He rubbed his eyes, and things became clearer. He was in what looked like a room at the hospital, and all his friends were there... all except Sakaki. He then remembered her screaming right before he'd passed out. Though it hurt him, he sat bolt upright.

"Where's Sakaki?" he asked hurriedly. ZaXo pretended he was ready for the worst, though he knew that deep inside he couldn't handle it. Tomo's weak smile turned into tears very quickly, along with most of the others. "What is it? Where is she?" ZaXo asked urgently.

It took a couple seconds, but finally someone spoke up. It was Yomi. "She... she's gone."

"You mean she's missing right? Please mean that she's missing. If she is, we can still find her, right? Don't say she's dead. Please, no," ZaXo pleaded with Yomi, though he was looking to them all, praying they had the answer he wished to hear. Everyone refused to make eye contact with him, as Kagura let out a pained sob. "No! She can't be... gone. What happened?" ZaXo asked, tears beginning to plague him too.

More time went by before Yomi finally spoke up again. "Well, you know that when she fell, the first man knocked you out. Then the other... he picked her up. They carried her back to the house, one of them saying to forget about the rest of us. We were going to go after them, but the police showed up and stopped us. They said it was too dangerous and we should let them take care of it. Kouki and the others were unable to escape, but they had knocked Sakaki out, and thrown her inside the Pet Place building... while it was burning down. One of the officers ran inside, but when he checked the building... when he checked it..." Her voice trailed off and she put her face in her hands.

"..No..._No_..._Noooo_! H-he got what h-he wanted? Th-that bastard got his revenge? Why Sakaki? Why her? Why not me?" ZaXo yelled. He was so loud that the doctors came rushing in.

"What's wrong? Is he awake? Oh, I see you are doing fine," one of them said, before realizing that everyone was in tears. "...So you found out about your friend. Well, I'll come back in a while to check up on how you're doing. We'll leave you alone for now," he announced quietly before walking out of the door and closing it behind himself.

"This... This can't be happening. It just _can't_ be!" ZaXo screamed at the top of his lungs. He didn't care that it made his chest sear with pain. He didn't care that the doctors and everyone else probably thought he was crazy. He just didn't care anymore. He loved Sakaki, and never again could he tell her. Nothing meant anything to him now. He just wanted to be with her again. But for the rest of his life, he would have to live with the burden of letting her go; of failing to save her from her troubled past.

**Just For Fun 2:**

Yuu pulled the knife out, and ZaXo screamed even louder. He knew that he was lucky to still be alive, and refused to give up. His attacker swung his arms upward, ready to stab him again. That's when ZaXo saw an opening. He lifted his knees and feet under Yuu's stomach, and kicked hard. The thin man flew up into the air and smacked his back against the wall, his head hitting the concrete bricks. Now that the knife wound was open, blood was gushing out of the deep cut. ZaXo could feel that it went quite a ways in. Trying to keep his composure, he attempted to stand up. Almost immediately the loss of blood, and searing pain caused ZaXo stumble.

Yuu was attempting to stand up straight, though hitting his head had dazed him quite a bit. He suddenly remembered his gun, and went charging for it. ZaXo punched him in the side before he could reach the weapon. ZaXo had to hold in a shriek of pain, such violent motions jarring his new-found injury. Yuu stumbled from the hit, dropping his knife. ZaXo mustered up what little strength to fight he had left, and slammed his elbow hard against Yuu's face. Yuu gave out, hitting the floor one last time, right next to the kennel Chiyo was in just a minute ago. He was out cold. Slowly, ZaXo began climbing the stairs, wondering if he would live as double vision set in.

As he clambered up the steps, ZaXo started to feel a strange sensation on his skin. The air was getting quickly warmer with each passing step. He peeked through the door into the entrance room, to find everything covered in a deep gray smoke. He could see flames licking the walls down the hallway, and couldn't help but wonder why. But ZaXo had no time to worry about such things, and began making his way to the front door.

Back outside, the sun was just starting to rise. All of the girls were delighted to see Chiyo safe. Yomi was the only one to notice Sakaki looking slightly angry. "What's wrong Sakaki?"

"I told you to hide. Why are you all still here?" Sakaki questioned desperately.

"We couldn't just leave you here. Where's ZaXo?" she inquired, ready for the worst. Sakaki looked worriedly back toward the building, who's windows were steadily getting hazier.

"He's still inside. He was fighting Yuu when Chiyo and I ran. I'm really worried. I want to go back inside and help him, but he told me to escape along with all of you."

Yomi hesitated before finally speaking up. "Well, I'm sure he'll be okay. He's a strong person."

Just as the sentence left Yomi's lips, Sakaki caught sight of ZaXo stumbling out of the front door. He started walking toward them, but fell to his hands. Sakaki gasped in surprise and ran up to him. ZaXo was trying to crawl on his hands and knees, his vision fading. He didn't even notice that she was next to him until she tried to pick him up and hoist his arm over her shoulder.

Sakaki and the others -who had just turned to see what was happening-, all cried out at the at the sight of the blood covering the whole front of ZaXo's shirt. It was still steadily dripping from the massive wound in his chest. Kagura said she would go get an ambulance and sprinted away, around the corner. Nobody had ever seen her run faster.

"Wh-what a day to not bring my cell-phone," Tomo whimpered.

"ZaXo!" Chiyo cried. "ZaXo, you're hurt! Please, _someone_ help him!" Tears were now heavily streaming down her dirty face.

"It-, ugh, it's okay Ch-Chiyo," he lied through the pain. "Sakaki, let me g-go please. You all need to get, get out of here."

"No, I won't! I won't leave you here to die!" Sakaki sobbed.

"No, you have to go n-now. It's only a matter of seconds before Kouki and Yuu, or someone else comes out! You won't be able to get away fast enough if you have to deal with me. What good did I just do if you get caught again? Please, just get to safety!" ZaXo yelled, groaning from the intense pain in his chest. But then his voice dropped to a whisper so that only Sakaki could hear him. "Listen... I, I don't want Chiyo to see me... me... listen, just get out of here," he finished, out of breath.

He couldn't help but remember the home videos of his sister, and how much she was like Chiyo-Chan. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Chiyo. He had no way of protecting his sister, but he could keep harm from coming to Chiyo. He wanted her to be safe, and the only way to ensure such a thing was to leave him behind so that they could escape quicker.

ZaXo's vision was almost completely faded, and he was very lightheaded. He could feel himself slipping in and out of consciousness. ZaXo's breathing was getting heavier, but it was now very staggered. "Go... n...o...w..."

"Okay," Sakaki whispered more to herself than anyone, trying to get the courage to leave him there. Then, just loud enough for him to hear her, she said softly, "I love you ZaXo. We all do."

A tear dropped down ZaXo's cheek at her words. Sakaki got up and walked to the others, not turning away from ZaXo. They all had tears in their eyes as Sakaki spoke. "L-let's go. ZaXo wants us to leave..."

Reluctantly they all started to run away; all except for Chiyo. She tried to scramble up to ZaXo, but was caught by Yomi and dragged off with the others.

"I'll take Chiyo home," Yomi said quietly, as if all the happiness in her had gone forever.

"Noooo! I want to save ZaXo! We _have to_!" Chiyo sobbed, kicking and flailing, trying to escape from the grip Yomi had around her waist. But Yomi just continued to take her further away from where ZaXo still lay, barely conscious.

They all ran up the alleyway that was straight across from the front of Pet Place. They were just through it to the other side when Sakaki stopped. It was too much for her to just let ZaXo alone, even if it did put her in danger to go back. "I can't just leave. I have to help ZaXo."

Tomo, who had been silent the whole time finally spoke up. "No… we can't. I don't want to see him die. We have to keep going."

"He is _not_ going to die!" Sakaki yelled fiercely. "I'm going back."

She turned and began to run back to the building, but was caught by Osaka and Tomo. "Yomi, you take Chiyo back home now and try to calm her down. We'll deal with Sakaki," Tomo stated, struggling to hold her strong friend back.

"O-okay," Yomi sobbed as she began to walk away with Chiyo, who was still attempting to get free.

"I'm going back, and I'll carry him to the hospital if I have to!" Sakaki screamed through endless tears. She continued to try and pull away, the girls barely holding her back. Sakaki finally screamed in anger, breaking free from her friends' grip. She sprinted down the alley as fast as she could. The girl had made it about half way, when two ambulances and two police cars stopped in front of the establishment. Kagura jumped out of the back of the frontmost ambulance, and looked to where ZaXo was laying. She then glanced over and was surprised to see Sakaki running toward her, with Tomo and Osaka following further down the alley. She stopped Sakaki as she tried to run by.

"What are you doing?" Kagura asked Sakaki urgently, clearly in confusion. Just then, the back door to the Pet Place building burst open, and Kouki and Yuu stumbled out, clambering over the wall into the alleyway behind the establishment. One of the officers immediately rushed past the building and jumped over the wall in pursuit. The other two rushed around the outside of the building, guns raised in an attempt at ensuring the other three men inside didn't escape the scene. Several firemen made their way into the front door, looking for the very same men.

All the while, the paramedics hurriedly placed ZaXo on a stretcher. They lifted him into the first of the two ambulances as quickly as possible, taking Sakaki in the back with them. Inside, Sakaki could see that ZaXo was fighting to stay alive still... if only just barely.

"ZaXo, you're going to be okay. Promise me that you're going to live!" she cried, holding his hand and looking into his half-closed eyes. "Talk to me... please!" she sobbed uncontrollably.

It took a few seconds, but ZaXo finally spoke up. "S-saka-aki... y-you came back..."

"Of course I did. I couldn't just leave you to die. ZaXo... you remind me so much of my father, before he died. So strong, and selfless. I can't let that go to waste," she smiled weakly in and attempt to keep him talking to her. She couldn't help but remember the short amount of time she'd had with her real father, and how similar he and ZaXo were. She didn't want anything bad to happen to ZaXo; she didn't want to be alone again. Sakaki had no way of protecting her father, but she could keep harm from coming to ZaXo. She wanted him to be safe, and the only way to ensure such a thing was to keep him talking; to keep him from slipping into the darkness that beckoned for him.

"I... I don't t-think I'm g-" ZaXo began, before coughing heavily, "g-gonna make it..."

"Don't say that!" Sakaki replied angrily, squeezing his hand softly to show that she was there for him.

"N-no Sakaki. Y-you don't understand," ZaXo whispered. "I have t-the same condition th-that my brother and s-sister had..."

Sakaki sat in disbelief, wondering where he came up with such a ludicrous idea. ZaXo struggled to take a deep breath, before continuing. "I f-found out wh-when I was just e-eleven..."

_...Cedric set ZaXo on the couch, and the others ran to get his parents. When they arrived, they came to find that their son was now having significant trouble breathing. He continued to clutch at his chest, tears running down his face._

"_Oh my God! Ethan, call an ambulance!" ZaXo's mother yelled, as she watched another one of her children slowly dying before her very eyes._

"I d-didn't want to sc-scare you Sakaki, so I didn't t-tell you," ZaXo finished, struggling more and more to breath, though he was now getting oxygen from a tank.

"_Not again, not again," she continued to whisper under her breath, in between sobs. She hated the fact that she couldn't do anything for him._

"_Mom?" ZaXo breathed, unable to see much of anything at the moment._

"_It's okay. You're going to be okay," she cried, moving his bangs out of his eyes._

_ZaXo gave a weak smile, and slowly everything started to fade to black. The pain grew less and less by the second, and he felt as if he didn't need to try so hard to breath anymore. Within a few more seconds, all other signs of life within ZaXo's mind disappeared, and he felt blissful contentment sweep over him._

"Not again, not again," Sakaki continued to whisper under her breath, in between sobs. She hated the fact that she couldn't do anything for him.

"Sakaki?" ZaXo breathed, unable to see much of anything at the moment.

"It's okay. You're going to be okay," Sakaki cried, moving his bangs out of his eyes.

ZaXo gave a weak smile, and slowly everything started to fade to black. The pain grew less and less by the second, and he felt as if he didn't need to try so hard to breath anymore. Within a few more seconds, all other signs of life within ZaXo's mind disappeared, and he felt blissful contentment sweep over him.

Sakaki finally gave up, as she felt his grip on her hand loosen completely. She slowly fell to her knees and began crying openly. She rubbed her eyes, and looked up at the bright, white light in the roof of the ambulance. "This... this can't be happening. It just can't be," Sakaki said through the tears and heavy sobs.

Nothing anyone could say to console Sakaki mattered to her anymore. She just didn't care anymore. She loved ZaXo, and never again could she tell him. Nothing meant anything to her now. She just wanted to be with him again. But for the rest of her life, she would have to live with the burden of letting him go; of failing to save him from Yuu's obsession with petty revenge.

* * *

**Wow... that was certainly a lot to take in, right? Anyway, now you can review, and I would love it if you did. This part of the story is important to me. Again, I would like to thank KittyAttack for her help with this. Well, hope you liked :)**


	34. With Finals Come Tensions

**Here's another chapter for everyone. Just so you know, it goes back and forth in time quite a bit. I hope you enjoy it, because the story is beginning to come to a close (a few more chapters). I'm gonna miss writing this; I truly am. Anyway, on to what it's being posted for. All thing Azumanga Daioh belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 33: With Finals Come Tensions**

_ZaXo sat in his room at the hospital, just casually flipping through the channels on the television. It was his fifth day there, and already he was bored out of his mind. His friends would stop by after school, but they weren't ever able to stay long. The school year was almost up, and that meant they had a lot of work to do. Not to mention, finals were only a month ahead._

_After utterly failing to find something to watch, he shut the t.v. off. ZaXo stared up at the ceiling, and sighed in discontent. Just then someone bust through the doorway. "So they weren't messing with me!" Seijin gasped, looking in amazement at his injured friend._

"_Took you long enough to finally come see me," ZaXo joked._

"_Yeah, well... I had a lot to do. I am majoring in three different subjects at once, you know."_

"_Pssh, I could do that no problem," ZaXo told him, folding his arms across his chest._

"_I bet you could," Seijin rolled his eyes, and they both laughed. "So, what exactly happened? I've tried talking to the others, but they wouldn't give me a straight answer. Tomo even tried to tell me that you'd been shot six times."_

"_Gahh, I don't wanna explain it again," ZaXo sighed lightheartedly. Though in reality, he just didn't want to relive it again. "I already told Kaorin, Emi, and Haru all about it when they came to see me."_

"_Hmm, it must not have been that epic then, if you're already bored of it."_

"_Fine," ZaXo grinned, and started telling the story for another time._

ZaXo stepped out of his home, ready for the trek to school. It would be much more simple of a walk today however, compared to usual. Today was the eve of finals for those about to graduate, so the whole day was dedicated to studying. The students only needed to bring what they felt was necessary, so ZaXo didn't have to carry near as much as usual.

But even if this wasn't the case, ZaXo had been feeling much lighter on his feet ever since Yuu and Kouki had finally been put where they belonged. There were still the residual fears that someone might still be out there, but ZaXo took a page from Chiyo's book, deciding that he shouldn't let them take control of his choices.

His arrival at the regular spot was met with the usual hello's, coupled with talk about finals flooding each of the conversations taking place. He, Sakaki, and Emi began talking about how they thought they'd do, as they walked on toward school.

"Yeah, I'm kind of bummed about my musical theory test," ZaXo started, as they took the steps up to the front doors, fifteen minutes later.

"Why's that?" Emi questioned, as ZaXo opened the door for her and Sakaki.

"Because it's a written test."

Emi looked at him in surprise, raising an eyebrow. "Yup, the class is all about playing music for four whole years. And suddenly I have to show what I've learned on a piece of paper."

Just ahead, ZaXo could see Yomi's head perk up a bit at his words. "That's suckish," Emi replied.

"At least that means I don't really have to bring anything. And I can study with all of you guys, instead of going to the music room. That place is gonna be pretty lonely for the next two days."

The first half of the day went pretty smoothly, most everyone feeling prepared for their finals; other than Tomo. She was no longer sure if she could make it in law. Everyone simply reassured her as much as they could. After all, she couldn't have made it this far if she didn't learn _something_.

As they all conversed at lunch, ZaXo couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes staring at him from behind. He turned around, the 'sixth sense' finally getting the better of him. The second he did, Yomi turned away. ZaXo shrugged it off, expecting that she was just deep in thought about tomorrow, and didn't realize she was staring. Ten minutes later they were all done eating, and everyone got up to leave.

"ZaXo?" Yomi said, as ZaXo turned toward the exit. He swung back around to face her, a smile on his face.

"Yes?"

"Can I... talk to you about something after school?" she inquired gently.

"You're asking me now... if you can talk to me about something after school?" ZaXo questioned back.

"It's important," she replied simply.

"Can't we just talk about it now?"

"I'd rather-" Yomi started, but ZaXo interrupted her, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I guess I'll meet with you right outside of the school then?" he asked, to which she just nodded silently before walking quickly away.

"Right..." ZaXo said slowly, a little confused, but much more curious.

Finally, the last bell rang, signifying the end of their study time at school. ZaXo, Sakaki, Seijin, and Chiyo all walked down to the first floor, exiting the front doors. The bright light of the sun blinded them for a couple of seconds as they strolled down the front steps. As his vision returned, ZaXo noticed Yomi standing alone near the far edge of the schoolyard. Remembering what she'd asked earlier, he turned to the others.

"Hey, I'll catch up with you guys," ZaXo announced as he started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Seijin asked curiously, noticing Yomi standing in the direction ZaXo was headed.

"Yomi said that she wanted to talk to me about something important, that's all."

Just then the others walked up, so ZaXo took the chance to escape, kissing Sakaki on the cheek before jogging off. He was about ten feet from the bespectacled girl, when Yomi glanced up to see him heading toward her. She quickly looked back down at her hands, a nervous expression on her face.

"Hey, Yomi. What's up?" ZaXo asked, trying to sound casual. Yomi didn't say anything. Her eyes stayed steady, watching her own fingers tighten around her books. "Is everything okay?" he inquired, wondering what in the world this was about. "You know you can tell me anything."

Yomi looked up to see that the others were already entering the park. She then glanced at ZaXo, her face red. "Um, do you think that we can talk somewhere a little more private?"

...Her voice shook with every word.

"Sure, that's fine," ZaXo smiled warmly, but inside he was becoming uneasy. Yomi turned and started to walk up to the school again. ZaXo followed suit, unsure where in the school would be more private during finals week.

She led him inside, walking in silence down the halls. When they arrived at the music room, ZaXo understood. Since the music theory test was a written exam like all the others, there would be nobody in there. Yomi slowly opened the door, peeking in to make sure that it was indeed empty. It was, so they went inside. She closed the door behind them, walked toward the recording studio, checking for anyone there as well. As ZaXo was about to ask what was going on, she signaled for him to follow her in there. He half-reluctantly traced her steps, now wondering what in the world could need this much seclusion. With the door locked behind them, she entered the sound room and waited for him to follow.

"Well, with all of this soundproofing and two rooms between us and the hallways, we won't have a problem with people listening in," ZaXo joked, but no laugh could be heard but his own. "What in the world is bothering you Yomi?" he questioned, now fearing the worst; though he didn't exactly know what could be worse than last month's events.

The girl sat down on the seat in the middle of the room, still not saying much. Yomi stared at her feet, her bottom lip now shaking uncontrollably. Whether fear, sadness, or something else was causing this, ZaXo didn't know; but the curiosity was eating him alive. He was anxious to know what was going on, and didn't think he could wait much longer. Finally Yomi's mouth opened, her mind trying harder than it ever had to get words to escape her lips.

"Well... I... I uh..." She tried to speak, but the words just wouldn't come.

ZaXo stepped closer to her. "Yomi. _Nothing_ you can say could be that bad," he replied, feeling the massive tension in the room, and trying as hard as he could to relieve it.

* * *

ZaXo sat in Yukari's class, tapping his pencil anxiously on the desk. He was unable to concentrate at all, as he waited for his teacher to hand out the tests. Yomi's words from the day before still kept replaying in his head; over and over. He looked around the room, most everyone else looking calm and collected. The only other one who looked out of it was Yomi herself. She seemed just as disheveled as he did.

"Hey, what's gotten in to you? Worried about the test or something? You speak English perfectly last time I checked," Seijin whispered to ZaXo, noticing something was up.

"I always get nervous during tests," ZaXo responded untruthfully.

"You never have before."

"Only big tests," ZaXo stated simply, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Whatever you say," Seijin shrugged, hungrily grabbing his test from Yukari, excited to prove his knowledge.

* * *

The brown haired girl struggled to get what was deep inside her mind out into the open. She wanted so much to just tell ZaXo everything and have her world be fine. But what if it wasn't? What if he didn't accept her words, or understand them? Or what if he did accept it, and it ruined things between them and the others? What if it tore everything she had known for the last seven years apart? Yomi couldn't handle losing her friends. But if she didn't tell him, the already unbearable weight of her secret might well crush her. Nobody could live well knowing that something like this was lurking inside of them, taunting them every day about the choice they didn't make.

Yomi couldn't hide it forever. It wasn't something she could stand. The fear of losing anyone was overwhelming... but then it hit her; as long as she hid it, she could never feel right. At least there was a small chance that things might be alright if she just told him. So it was then that she decided; she had to say something, or it would always haunt her.

Yomi opened her mouth, for what was the last time that it would ever hold one of her her deepest secrets...

* * *

ZaXo put his pencil to the paper in front of his face. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to keep his mind on the English final. His eyes darted around, sweat beading all over his face. Seijin noticed, and turned to make sure Yukari wasn't paying attention. Their teacher was nowhere to be found, a note on the dry erase board telling them that she'd gone to grab a coffee.

"Man, are you _sure_ you're okay? You look pretty sick," Seijin muttered. ZaXo didn't even seem to hear him, currently far too deep in thought. He couldn't help but think he could have done a better job in the conversation he and Yomi had the day before. Maybe there was something he could have said. Maybe he could have made things a little easier on her. "Hey! ZaXo, snap out of it," Seijin whispered sharply, grabbing his friend by the shoulder and shaking him a bit.

ZaXo inhaled sharply, breaking from his stupor. "Wha?"

"ZaXo, are you okay? You look terrible. Come to think of it... Yomi does too," Seijin explained, looking up at her, as he remembered them leaving the group alone the day before. "Wait, did something happen yesterday when you and her talked?"

ZaXo just swallowed hard, unable to say a word. All he could think about were Yomi's words; that one sentence she said that changed everything.

* * *

"ZaXo... I think... I think I l-love you," the words slowly and quietly escaped Yomi's mouth. It immediately felt as if she had been reborn. For that instance, the consequences of what she'd just divulged didn't matter to her. The shear bliss that came with lifting such a heavy burden enveloped her for a single moment, making her feel invincible.

For ZaXo however, these words hit hard. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room with such force that it took time with it. He stood frozen for what seemed like an eternity. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't process the words that had just left his friend's mouth. His friend of almost four years -someone he felt he could depend on-, he could talk to; someone who he'd grown close to. That best friend... felt much more for him than simple friendship. It was a lot to take in, and ZaXo didn't even know where to start.

"Y-you what?" he stuttered.

* * *

ZaXo never answered Seijin, quickly finishing his test, and leaving the room. He went into the restroom, and placed his hands on the counter, looking into the sink. His stomach was churning, like a sea in a storm. He wasn't quite sure if he was going to get sick or not.

When the feeling subsided a bit, ZaXo splashed water on his face a couple of times, trying to get himself back together. He stared in the mirror, a mixture of sweat and water dripping from his face. How could she... love him? "What in the hell did I do that was so damn great?" he spat, angry at himself, though he had no clue why. But at the same time, deep down, he knew exactly what was bothering him.

If it wasn't for him, Yomi wouldn't feel so trapped; she wouldn't have to carry such a heavy burden. ZaXo didn't know what to do. He felt so helpless, and couldn't even begin to imagine how Yomi was feeling. Abandon maybe. Scared. Like she no longer belonged. But ZaXo couldn't make her happy. He was in love with Sakaki. He had her to think about.

Sakaki...

She didn't even know that anything was going on. ZaXo would never desert her for anyone else, but how did he know she would believe him if he told her that? He didn't want to take the chance of hurting Sakaki, and he didn't want her to take it out on Yomi either. This wasn't her fault; it was his.

ZaXo left the restroom just as first period got over. He grabbed his things from Yukari's room, and silently went to his next test. Throughout each class, he was still unable to concentrate. But what about Yomi? She could very well be bombing every one of her tests. Maybe he should have told her what she wanted to hear, just so that she didn't have anything to worry about while taking her exams. No... that was a silly thought; lying to her to make her feel better. He'd have to tell her eventually that he'd done so. It was a stupid idea... wasn't it?

* * *

"I think I love you," Yomi said again, her recent feelings of elation fading fast, to be replaced with fear of the outcome of her choice. She quickly stood up and embraced him, tears running down her face. ZaXo stifled a small yelp, the damage Yuu had done to him still not fully healed.

"I don't know how or why it happened. I just... I feel so strange. It's like, no matter how horrible my day might be going, I know that when you're near, everything is instantly better; better than I ever thought possible. I think about you all day, and dream of you all night. I don't know what to do..." Yomi explained in between sharp, emotionally pained breaths.

"I know how you and Sakaki feel for each other, and I don't want to take that away from either of you. I care for Sakaki so much. And your happiness means everything to me," she continued, pulling away from him, and looking into his eyes.

"But I have no control over these feelings, and it's like they're eating me alive. I just want it all to go away. It hurt so much; I feel so alone..." the girl confided in teary despair, as if every word was a secret in and of itself.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before she journeyed on, deep into her feelings. "I realized last month; when I saw that you were hurt... I was so close to losing you. I realized that I needed to tell you how I feel, because life can be fragile."

"What if you hadn't made it?" she continued. "I don't know what I would have done. So, I just had to tell you. Even if you don't accept it, you _need_ to know how I feel. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't say anything; just in case something happens..." her voice trailed off.

Yomi continued to look into ZaXo's eyes, trying desperately to see into his soul; into what he was thinking. ZaXo couldn't bare it, and looked away. What was he to do? He cared for both Sakaki and Yomi more than anything else in the world. But he still felt this different, stronger bond with Sakaki. "I... I don't know what to say Yomi. I really do care for you," he breathed slowly, his mind racing. "But we both know this can't be. Sakaki..."

His words were like ice to Yomi, freezing her heart in place. Though, she admittedly knew deep inside that this was going to be his reaction to her confession.

"I just don't... I don't know how to help you. I want to lift your pain away, but I'm not sure I can."

* * *

ZaXo barely made it through the rest of the day, insurmountable tension building with each passing class. When the final bell chimed, he walked slowly from the school. ZaXo looked around frantically, paranoid that Sakaki was going to come up and accuse him of cheating on her. He'd never do such a thing, but the panic was overwhelming him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Yomi walking up, looking just as unhappy as he did. She opened her mouth, ready to say something, when the others walked up behind them. Seijin wrapped his arm around ZaXo, smiling wide. "Do you feel better now, buddy?"

ZaXo didn't say anything to him, instead looking to his girlfriend. "Sakaki? Yomi and I need to talk with you about something," he stated seriously, Seijin taking the hint.

"Okay," Seijin said slowly. "I guess we'll see you later."

Seijin ushered the others on with him, leaving Sakaki, Yomi, and ZaXo standing alone in the grass. "Sakaki-" ZaXo began, but Yomi interrupted.

"Sakaki, I'm _so sorry_," the bespectacled girl apologized profusely, repeating the words over again and again. "I couldn't help myself," she cried.

Sakaki looked back and forth between the two of them, unsure of what to think at the moment. "What's going on? Did something happen?" she asked quietly, her face going white.

"Kind of," ZaXo muttered, looking away. It was too much for him to look at her or Yomi.

"What?" Sakaki responded, worry entering her voice.

"I..." Yomi breathed slowly, trying to get a hold of herself. She then proceeded to explain everything. When she was finally finished, all three of them looked like ghosts. They just stared at each other for half a minute or so, unsure where to go next. Finally, it was Sakaki who spoke up for them.

"I guess... if you want to be with her," she stated, her eyes lowering. "I can understand it. Yomi's really beautiful, and such a great person. She deserves someone like you, ZaXo. I wish you both the best."

Sakaki began to walk off, her hand up to her face; shielding her sadness from onlookers. "Sakaki, wait!" ZaXo yelled after her, desperately. "Sakaki, I-"

"He doesn't want to be with me," Yomi interrupted, surprising ZaXo into silence. She grabbed his hand, and walked him up to Sakaki, who was now standing still, a few feet away from them. She turned around to face them, and Yomi took her hand as well.

"He loves you, Sakaki. Not me," Yomi explained, placing her friends' hands together, and stepping back. "I can tell that he cares for you more than anything. Don't ever give him up Sakaki."

"But-" ZaXo started, wanting more than anything to help his selfless, yet lonely, broken friend.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine ZaXo," Yomi said, smiling weakly and walking away. Suddenly, Yomi stopped in her tracks, turning back around to face them both. "Thank you for listening though," she told ZaXo quietly. "It helped me; a lot."

* * *

**Thank you for reading this chapter. Please review. I hope you didn't mind MORE drama (I almost skipped posting this chapter, but it's written soooo well in my opinion). I promise that should be it with this type of thing. Hope You Liked :)**


	35. The Best Of Friends

**Please enjoy the chapter. Everything Azumanga belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 34: The Best Of Friends**

That time had finally come. The day that they'd all waited four years for; the day they had worked toward for so long, was finally upon them. ZaXo and the others made their way to HKU as students, for what would be the last time. Happy chatter could be found across the whole entire group.

Though for some of them, things had been going on during finals, everyone still passed their classes. Today would be the first day that they could become recognized as professionals in the industries they chose to specialize in. Nobody seemed to be more elated than Tomo however, who was positively beaming. Her usual energy levels were tripled at the moment, as the girl leapt around, telling stories about how well she was going to do.

Things between Sakaki and ZaXo were once again they way they had been before. It didn't take long for them to get over the episode from the previous month. Even Yomi seemed to be doing better. She was finally able to talk to them both, though she still seemed a little quieter whenever she did. Still, Yomi assured them that everything would be fine.

Part of this was due to Seijin's obsession with trying to comfort her. Since he'd found out what happened, it had become a mission of his to make her laugh as much as possible. ZaXo was thankful for this, as he still didn't have a clue as to how he could do anything to make her heartache go away. It took some of the weight off of his shoulders.

"I'm so excited!" Chiyo chimed, skipping along the way. "I'm graduating today. I'm finally a real adult."

"No you're not," ZaXo joked. "You still haven't turned eighteen yet."

"Oh, but I am an adult," Chiyo explained. "Did you forget what day my birthday is on? It's today!" she smiled wide.

ZaXo ignored her, acting as if he was now too busy to listen. "Hey, did you hear me?" Chiyo pouted, but ZaXo continued his silence, pretending to be listening to Tomo just up ahead. He actually did know that it was Chiyo's birthday today; everyone did. But they were planning a surprise party for her, so he had to keep quite.

"Hmf! I could be turning a hundred for all they know, and _still_ nobody would listen to me," Chiyo remarked, folding her arms across her chest. This wasn't the first time someone had ignored her statement that morning.

Five minutes later, they were all in front of the school. Everyone stared at the massive campus for a few seconds, taking in the beautiful view of what had been their home away from home for almost half a decade. As they watched others from their class walking across the street, they heard the telltale sound of Yukari's large, whirring turbochargers in her car. Seconds later, the large red blur flew around the corner, sliding into the parking lot as it always did.

After Yukari's car was parked, it was finally safe to walk across the street. "Why're you here, Yukari?" Kagura asked loudly as their teacher strolled up to them. "It's not like you're part of our class just because you like us the best."

"Who said I like you best?" Yukari questioned. "You followed _me_ to this school, not the other way around. Besides, I'm just here for the free food."

"Should've seen that coming," Kagura muttered.

The group grew larger and larger as they continued past the main building of the school, Kaorin, Emi, Nyamo, and the others joining them in their walk. All too soon however, they were required to separate as the graduation ceremony started, taking place in the massive field behind the school. Nyamo walked up to the stage, and checked her microphone, the students getting into their designated seats. ZaXo and the others were for the most part, spread across the whole group of students. The only one anywhere near him was Chiyo, who was just a single row behind him.

"Welcome," Nyamo began, everyone hushing their voices until silence was all that could be heard. "We are all here today, to witness a special thing. As many of you know, Hyakuji-Kyouju University is still very much in it's infancy. This school was founded on the core principles that everyone shares when it comes to education; and it's name shows what's at the heart of every person here. Every single faculty member, every student, every parent here; we all know that education is one of the most important things to making it in life today."

Nyamo waited a few seconds, before continuing. "The teachers make sure that no matter what, _everything_ they can give to the students is received. They do absolutely everything to help mold the young minds before us into something truly spectacular."

Yukari held her head high at these words, feeling proud of the 'work' she'd done in teaching her students. "And the students," Nyamo started, looking to all of them. "The students give their minds, their time, and sometimes much more than this in order to make sure that they can be successful in the future. They do absolutely everything to the best of their ability."

ZaXo could feel smiles breaking out across the faces of the countless students at his side. Nyamo waited once more, giving her last statement a second to sink in. "That is why, I believe that our school name is justified. That's why we can wear the HKU badge proudly. Because everyone here truly knows that 'everything's being given', just like the name implies. And that tradition will continue forever."

Cheers erupted from everywhere, as Nyamo finished her speech. When everything calmed down, she spoke once more. "Now, without waiting any longer, it's time to give these students the honors they deserve. They've worked hard for this day, and it's finally here."

The first two rows of students stood up, ready to go get their degree. They formed a single file line to the stage, just as was rehearsed. Slowly, the names of their peers were called. They would each walk up onto the stage, shake Nyamo's hand, and grab the certificate from her assistant. ZaXo sat watching, as a few people he knew and many he didn't, officially finished their schooling at HKU. After a couple of minutes however, ZaXo began to hear a whimpering sound coming from somewhere nearby. He looked around to find Chiyo, crying her eyes out in the row behind.

Suddenly, it was time for both her row, and ZaXo's to stand up and file into the line. ZaXo broke ranks, and walked back to where Chiyo was in line. He wrapped his arm around his small, sobbing friend, knowing exactly what she was feeling. Today, everything changed. It was an amazingly freeing feeling. Chiyo was obviously crying tears of happiness. But at the same time this meant the end of a great time in their lives. They would never again be able to experience something quite like what they had over the past four years. In each of her blissful tears, was just a hint of the sadness that came from that thought.

ZaXo walked in silence with his friend for as long as he could, her tears becoming a bit contagious. They both just held each other close, the friendship they shared being all the comfort they needed to continue. ZaXo had to briefly leave her in order to get his certificate, but rushed back to his friend right afterward. Five slow minutes later, they were closing in on the stage.

"Chiyo... dry your eyes," ZaXo whispered. "It's your time."

The young woman looked up to the stage, where Nyamo stood holding out her hand. She glanced back at ZaXo, who simply smiled and gave a gentle nod.

"Yeah! Chiyo-Chan!"

"Chiyo! You rock!"

"You can do it!"

Several people cheered her on, giving her the strength to walk up those steps, and into the unknown. ZaXo walked back to his seat, noticing a sincere smile across Sakaki's lips, pointed in his direction. Fifteen minutes later, everyone had gone through the ceremony. Silence once again graced the area, as Nyamo looked once more out into the massive sea of people who'd come to watch the graduation. Finally, she lifted the microphone up to her mouth, ready to speak.

"I'm now proud to give to you... the first _ever_ graduating class from Hyakuji-Kyouju University!" Nyamo said proudly, and the crowd exploded with cheers and clapping.

Fifteen minutes later, ZaXo and the others were all walking arm in arm away from the school. The huge line of people skipped along toward Chiyo's house, singing the school anthem along the way.

Everyone was out of breath and sweating by the time they got to their destination. They talked with each other merrily for about ten minutes, before some of them decided to leave. "See ya'll later today," Osaka winked openly. Everyone looked at her pretending to be unsure about what she meant. "Ya know, at Ch-" she began to explain, before Kagura covered her friend's mouth and dragged her off.

"Bye you two," Chiyo said slowly, curious as to what that was about, though she had a rough, rather hopeful idea. The ranks thinned out even more, until only Sakaki, Chiyo, Tomo, and ZaXo were left.

"So, did I tell you guys it's also my birthday today?" Chiyo said, giving them her best puppy dog eyes.

"What? Sorry Chiyo. I don't understand Japanese," ZaXo told her.

"But you just _spoke_ in Japanese!" she declared, turning back into her usual, childlike self.

"No I didn't," ZaXo continued, still speaking the language in question. He began to walk off, the others doing the same, leaving Chiyo stunned in the middle of the street. Then without warning, they all suddenly rushed over, and picked her up off of the ground.

"What?" she squeaked in surprise, as they started to carry her toward Sakaki's house.

"You're coming with us!" Tomo growled playfully. "You're going to a party Chiyo-Chan, and we demand that you have fun! If you don't enjoy yourself, we'll keep partying and feeding you cake until you explode from happiness!"

They set the delighted girl down, and all four of them raced to Sakaki's house as fast as they could. Passerby's just stared, wondering what in the world was going on, Chiyo and the others cheering and yelling wildly.

"Wow Sakaki," Chiyo gasped, completely out of breath when they arrived at the gate to the party. "I forgot how fast you are."

The big, black iron gate to Sakaki's home opened slowly, allowing them all a bit of time to catch their breath. "Seriously. You're not even that in to sports," Tomo exclaimed. "How _are_ you so fast?"

"I think it's because I'm so tall," Sakaki responded quietly, far less winded than the others.

"I'm taller than you, and I still lost," ZaXo countered, standing straight up to reveal that he was about two inches bigger than she was. "You're just cheating; using special shoes or something," he grinned in between heavy breaths. "Man, I need to exercise more."

When the gate was finally open, the four of them walked into Sakaki's yard, and headed behind her house; where the party was being held. Everyone else was already there. As soon as they all saw Chiyo, they cheered her name.

"Happy birthday!" they all chimed, everyone coming up to talk to her. The young girl was taken aback by all the attention, blushing profusely and stuttering from embarrassment.

The party then officially kicked off. Yukari, Nyamo, Haru, Emi, and everyone was there, having a grand old time. Chiyo took some time out to spend a while with her childhood friends, Miruchi and Yuuka. There wasn't a single sad, lonely, or fearful thought in the place. It was the best time they'd had in quite a while, and something they felt they'd remember for a long time.

On and on they partied. ZaXo sat down after a couple of hours, and simply watched everyone else having a good time. He knew deep inside that this might be the last time that they were all together for a while, and wanted to take some time to remember all of the great adventures he'd had with each of them. The sun above them started to set, bathing them all in an inviting, orange light. But still the party raged. ZaXo figured that they all had the same feeling gnawing at the back of their minds; they didn't want it to end. If only they could stay there forever. Each of them was delighted at having a degree now. They all had futures. But ZaXo knew they would all give it away in a second if they could stay near each other forever. At least that's they way ZaXo thought of it.

When the clock struck ten, each of them began to settle down a bit. Everyone began to talk about the past, and the futures they were planning. ZaXo and Sakaki sat under the light of a solitary lantern, listening to Chiyo's hopes and dreams for the next few years of her life.

ZaXo truthfully didn't know what he was going to do after that night was over. He now had a vast knowledge of two different forms of art, but what exactly to do with them was where his problem lie. When Chiyo was finished, he asked her about it, seeking out the type of wisdom she had shown back at his first night at the hospital.

"I really don't know where you should go with your career, Mr. ZaXo," Chiyo began, before catching herself, and giggling.

"You haven't called me _that_ for ages," ZaXo laughed. "Mr. ZaXo... in reality I should be the one to start calling you Ms. Mihama. After all, you'll soon be an English teacher of the highest caliber. Who knows? You could probably run for president if you wanted to. Then I'd have to call you President Mihama."

"No, I couldn't do that," Chiyo responded, looking at her hands as her face grew warm.

"Sure you could," ZaXo smiled. "You're a genius. If you want it, you only need to believe you can do it Chiyo. Don't sell yourself short."

"You shouldn't sell yourself short either," the younger girl responded.

"Tha-" ZaXo began, before realizing that she'd just given him the answer he was seeking. "There's that wisdom I was looking for," he laughed. Just then, he got an idea. A strange urge within him compelled him to stand up. Sakaki and Chiyo stared, curious as to what he was doing.

"Umm, excuse me. Excuse me everyone," he started loudly, each group of people going quiet and looking at him. "I'd like to say something really quickly, if I may."

Each of them gave ZaXo their undivided attention, as he took a deep breath. "Today, is truly a great day. Most of us here just spent a large amount of time at HKU, as Ms. Kurosawa stated; working hard to make ourselves a future. Others were there to help us along the way when we had trouble. But something else important happened while we were there," ZaXo explained, looking over them all.

"When I first came to Japan, I wasn't sure if I was going to make many friends. It's an extremely daunting task to start over, particularly in such a vastly different country from your home. But not long after I arrived, I met some truly great people. Each one of them quickly grew on me, until the bond between us was inseparable."

ZaXo then looked at Chiyo. "I've gotten to see my young, adorable friend Chiyo grow into an intelligent, beautiful young woman. Every day, she amazes me with how vast her knowledge is, yet she's extremely grounded, and so, so innocent. Never lose that innocence, Chiyo."

ZaXo then looked up to Tomo and Yomi. "These two over here; they argue... a lot," he started, everyone laughing. "But deep down inside, I know that they care about each other. Their friendship is the kind that you rarely see. I've learned so much about how important it is to have someone to help you up when you've fallen down, all thanks to them."

"Then there's Miss Shun Kagura. The will she has is unbreakable, and her sense of justice... strong. I've never met anyone else with so much strength inside. Kagura, you can get yourself anywhere in life that you want, as long as you always strive to be the best you can."

ZaXo waited for a second, looking toward Osaka. "Ayumu Kasuga; I'm not quiet sure how your mind works, but I think that's what I like about you the most. You're creativity knows no bounds. Not to mention, you're definitely one of the kindest, most trusting people I've ever met."

ZaXo continued on, describing Kaorin, Emi, Haru, Seijin, Yukari, and Nyamo, everyone still listening intently when he got to the last person. "Finally, there's Yoshiko Sakaki. It took me so long to learn who you are, Sakaki. You're so quiet and docile, often afraid to show who you are to those around you. But once I got to know you, I found someone both strong, and extremely caring; someone who I can always depend on."

"My point in all of this is..." ZaXo began, his chest swelling with emotion. "I've met so many, amazing, memorable people here in this great country. However, I know deep inside that, after today, we might not see a lot of each other. Before the night is up, I just have to tell you all that I'll miss you more than anything. I love you all so much, and it's hard for me to imagine life without any one of you. I'll remember and cherish every second I have had with each of you."

"I wish everyone the best in their future's, and hope our paths may cross again one day," ZaXo finished, silence ensuing. A few seconds passed by, before everyone cheered. Half of them had tears in their eyes, as they ran around, frantically giving their friends deep, warm hugs. ZaXo had made it clear that if this was to be the last time they were _all_ together, it needed to be a time to show how much they cared for each other.

The party continued until dawn, nobody wanting to leave until the very last minute. But it had to end sometime. Each of them said their goodbye's, and slowly went home, deep sadness and comforting bliss mixing in their hearts. ZaXo was the last to leave, walking around the house with his girlfriend. He turned and kissed Sakaki at the front of her home, as the iron house gate closed in on them both. When it finally forced them apart, the two of them simply stared at each other, until it was fully closed.

"I'm going to miss everyone," ZaXo frowned, watching the sun rise in the distance.

"Me too," Sakaki agreed quietly. Neither of them said another word, both simply going their separate ways; finalizing the fact that everyone now had their own lives to live.

* * *

**OMG! Is that the end? Not quite (you know that if you read the authors notes at the beginning). Please review. Hope You Liked :)**


	36. Epilogue: Sweet Dreams, Sweet Memories

**Just so everyone knows, a Kei-Car is a little Japanese style 'mini car'. They usually resemble a combination between a Volkswagon Golf and a Smart Car. Don't really need to say much else here. On to the chapter! All things Azumanga belong to their respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Chapter 35: Epilogue**

**Sweet Dreams... Sweet Memories...**

**Post-Chapter 1**

A year had passed since the party at Chiyo's house; since the last time that everyone had all been together. ZaXo stood in front of the mirror in the hallway of his new apartment, checking to see if he looked presentable. Someone lightly rapped their hand on the door, catching his attention.

"C'mon in Sakaki," ZaXo called, before going back to fixing his hair. Sakaki stepped inside, smiling gently. She walked over, and set her small purse on the table in his small living room.

"So, are you almost ready?" she asked politely, stepping back into the hallway, and turning him around. She looked him over, and grinned. "You look great."

"So do you," ZaXo admitted, looking at her for the first time since she'd arrived. Almost immediately however, he noticed something drastically different about the girl he'd known for so long. "Y-you cut your hair?" he stammered in amazement, looking to find that her blackened locks now ended just below her shoulders.

"D'you not like it?" Sakaki asked, giving him a puppy-dog stare, and swiveling her body back and forth from her heels to her toes like a small child.

"That depends," ZaXo started, raising an eyebrow. "Did you cut it because you're breaking up with me?"

"Of course not," she told him, bringing him closer, and looking into his eyes.

"Then I absolutely love it," he smiled at her, pecking her on the lips.

"Yours needs to be a little messier though," Sakaki said, lightly brushing her hand over his hair a few times. "There we go. You looked to formal."

"Thank you," ZaXo mumbled. He looked in the mirror, and noticed that she was right. But that didn't suddenly mean that he hadn't just wasted ten minutes fixing his hair that way in the first place.

"So, are we ready to go then, Sakaki-Nyan?" ZaXo asked cheerfully, to which she nodded and locked elbows with him. They stepped out of the door, and headed downstairs toward the building entrance. The two of them passed right by Sakaki's little kei-car, ZaXo living close enough to their destination to walk. And after all, it was a nice day outside. Why shouldn't they walk?

_Sakaki strolled across the field of grass and flowers ahead. It seemed endless, which she felt was comforting. There were many cute animals following her, and birds perched themselves on her shoulders. Sakaki just smiled and blushed while she walked on, in pure bliss._

_But the bliss was not eternal. Within an instant, everything disappeared. Sakaki gasped and cried out, as her feet left the ground, or rather, the ground left her feet. It all vanished from under her, the girl now falling into a seemingly endless pit of darkness. The walls around her were black as pitch. Her hair flew up above her as she continued to plummet ever further._

_Sakaki cried out for help, but none came. Again and again she yelled, hoping someone would come to her aid, but nobody responded. Tears began to flow from her eyes. The tears simply left her eyes and fell with her, inches from her face. Droplet after droplet accumulated in front of her, as if she had suspended time during a rainstorm. After another minute, the girl wiped her eyes off and gathered up the strength to looked down... just at the wrong moment._

_At her speed, she was about five seconds away from the ground. Sakaki closed her eyes, and brought herself in, ready for impact. However, it never came. Five seconds went by... then ten... then twenty, and thirty. When a minute had finally gone by, she opened one of her eyes to look down, sure that when she did so, she would hit the ground in a cruel twist of fate. But she didn't. Sakaki was instead hovering a few feet above the rocky, hard looking landing spot. A mixture of confusion and happiness filled her as she realized she wasn't dead, and was no longer falling._

_Sakaki opened her other eye, and relaxed her body, looking around to see what could have saved her. The walls to the chasm were gone, and a few feet in front of her, Sakaki saw a boy that looked to be about her age. She couldn't seem to make out what he looked like, but she knew that it was him who freed her from death's grip. Sakaki put her feet to the ground, and stood up from her floating state, as the tears that had been lingering with her fell to the ground, landing to make small splashes of white on the dark, pitch black surface below. She was glad to be on solid ground again. Her heartbeat -which had been racing just a minute ago-, was now completely calm. "Th-thank you..." she stammered, bowing to the boy in front of her. He bowed back and then proceeded to point behind her._

_Sakaki looked back to see that her field of flowers and grass once again existed. She smiled at him in elation and saw that the blackness that was behind him was also once again a beautiful plain. She could feel him smiling at her, as he walked up and touched the side of her face with his palm. It felt so warm and invitingly caring to her. Sakaki blushed and closed her eyes. Seconds later, she opened them and found herself somewhere else._

_...He wrapped his arm around Sakaki from behind, making her feel warm; she felt loved. They looked toward each other, as she placed her hand on his face..._

"Wh-" Sakaki inhaled sharply, reality coming back to her.

"Huh? Are you okay, Sakaki-Nyan?" ZaXo asked, placing his hand on the top of her head.

"Yeah... I just..." she started slowly, before shrugging her visions off. "I'm just excited," she replied, resting her head on his shoulder.

**Post-Chapter 2**

ZaXo and Sakaki walked on, enjoying the bright, happy sun, and talking about how their day had gone so far. As they rounded the corner onto a familiar street, they began to hear someone calling their names from behind. The two of them turned around, but couldn't quite see who it was yet. Suddenly, they recognized the voice. It was Kagura.

_Deep in a vivid dream, Kagura sprinted ahead, determined to win the race she was now in. She was already far, far ahead of everyone else in the race and began to grow bored. All she wanted was a little competition, but nobody was even close to catching her. They just succeeded in falling further behind. When she was only a minute or two from the finish, she looked back in hopes that someone was close behind, though she thought this unlikely. To her surprise, a boy of her age was now hot on her trail. Grinning at the challenge, she gave it all she had. But he continued to catch her, until they were dead even. The race was very heated as they both sprinted at full speed. The two breathed heavily, sweat dripping from their faces, neither willing to give up._

_The finish was finally in sight, and they both forced out an extra burst of speed. When the pair crossed the line, there was no clear winner. It seemed as if they had both broken the tape. Kagura didn't care whether she won or not, as she just liked having to push herself. The boy offered her a bow and she bowed back, each showing respect and honor to each other. And yet, when she looked back up, he was gone, with no trace to be found. She started to wonder about what just happened, but was suddenly swarmed by many fans and friends._

_The images in Kagura's mind faded instantly, leaving her in darkness. The girl stood there in surprise, wondering what was going on. Before she could react, the girl was thrust into a new setting; somewhere she knew quite well. All of her friends were there, as well as some other people she wasn't sure she knew._

_...Chiyo-Chan ushered Kagura into position, before bending over and sticking her tongue out. Kagura chuckled, and gave a large smile, placing her hand on the younger girl's head..._

"What's up, you guys?" Kagura grinned, the images that had just flew through her mind distracting her for a split second.

"Nothing much. How've you been the past year?" ZaXo questioned in return.

"Man, it's been so fun. I got the job I wanted, teaching P.E. at our old high school. It's a blast!"

"Wow. Sounds interesting," Sakaki told her old friend.

"The strangest part is the fact that it looks like Mr. Kimura's daughter is going to be in my home room class this year. It's her first year at the school."

"That's right. The new school year is just about to start again isn't it? So you've been teaching for a whole year," ZaXo said in awe. "That's just crazy."

"Yeah, time sure does fly," Kagura agreed.

**Post-Chapter 3**

The three of them continued on together toward their destination, chatting merrily about what they thought was going on with everyone else. "So, d'you think Tomo has actually made it anywhere with her law degree?" Kagura questioned. Before ZaXo or Sakaki could respond, someone did it for them.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Tomo's voice sounded from behind them.

"Woah! Is _everyone_ walking today?" Kagura asked, both Tomo and Yomi standing a few feet back down the sidewalk, Seijin's arm wrapped around the latter.

_Yomi was in way over her head at the moment, as her stack of homework and tests she needed to take began to grow. Pages upon pages appeared, one after another, adding to the stack until it reached the ceiling. Yomi whimpered as it suddenly toppled over, crashing down next to her. Now each page began to multiply rapidly, taking over her room. She cried out, trying to get it to stop. Opening her window, Yomi started to pick up the pages and throw them out, before she was buried alive._

_As Yomi grabbed her fourth armful of papers and turned to throw them out of the window, she noticed someone standing right outside. She dropped the paper she was holding, as curiosity began to take her over. She subconsciously knew he was here to help; to set her free from the struggle and stress she was feeling._

_The boy pointed into the room casually, signaling for Yomi to look. She did so, suddenly noticing that the whole pile of work was gone. All that was left was a single sheet of paper on her desk, and a pencil. It was completely blank except for one word at the top. She took a closer look to see what it said. 'Relaxation', was all that was written. Yomi looked back for the boy, but he was gone. She sat down at the desk, and grabbed the pencil, deciding to write about what would be her ultimate form of relaxation._

_As sudden as her homework had vanished, so did the world around Yomi, leaving her confused._

_..."So why isn't he joining in?" Tomo asked Yomi, looking back at the man in question. "He's trying to find 'you know who', and bring him back here. We'll make sure to get at least one with all of us," Yomi replied, stepping up next to her friend, and smiling..._

"Wow, are you and Seijin dating or something now?" ZaXo inquired, the tall man in front of him grinning from ear to ear, and giving a small thumbs up.

"Yeah. It's only been a few weeks, but things are going fantastic," Yomi explained, playfully poking her boyfriend in the stomach.

"That looks like fun," Sakaki said, poking ZaXo in the stomach as well.

"Hey, quite it," ZaXo laughed, extremely ticklish. Sakaki just continued, giggling as he tried to fend her off.

"Well, someone's come out of her shell a bit," Yomi chimed in surprise.

**Post-Chapter 4**

"She had to," ZaXo began, as he caught Sakaki's hand, as well as his breath. "She started a great flower shop a few miles from where Pet Place moved to way back when. It's doing really well. Though truthfully, I'm beginning to wonder if she didn't pick that area just so that she could scamper over and look at all the cute animals after work."

"That sounds like Sakaki-Nyan alright," Tomo said, remembering the Sakaki song she'd made up way back when, and started muttering it under her breath.

_Tomo was high up in the air, flying way above the city. The front of her shirt said 'The Tomonator', and she was wearing a great red cape. As she hovered over the buildings, she noticed what appeared to be a mugging in an alley. Tomo swooped down to confront what she now knew to be about ten hoodlums. They were surrounding a poor old woman and attempting to take her valuables. Tomo held her hand up as she landed, warning them to stop or they would have to face her wrath. The old lady's eyes widened in glee as she saw Tomo, but the muggers just laughed. "What's so funny?" Tomo chortled herself, cracking her knuckles. The leader shook his head and held up a small leather bag which said on it 'The Tomonators Weakness'._

_Tomo's eyes lit up in shock, knowing full well what was in the bag. The girl now realized that she didn't have a chance at winning. But before she could valiantly face certain defeat, someone else flew down and landed next to her. She couldn't tell who it was, the man so much blurrier than everything else. Immediately she knew him to be her sidekick, but she couldn't get a clear grasp at anything else about him. She could however feel that he was trustworthy, which was proven as he ran towards the lead mugger. Her 'sidekick' grabbed the bag, and crushed it into dust before his enemy could react. The young man then turned to Tomo, and gave her a salute before flying off._

_Tomo watched him for a second or two before lowering her gaze back to the stunned muggers. She smiled a devious smile and began to take them each down with a single punch._

_As she swung at the last mugger left standing, he disappeared, leaving her alone. "What?" she gasped, as everything around her faded away. The world rematerialized seconds later, though it was now completely different from before._

_..."What are you doing?" Yomi questioned. _

"_I'm trying to look sexy," Tomo replied, placing her hands on her hips._

"_But you're in my way," Yomi retorted in annoyance, as a flash blinded her for a second..._

"Well, I'm doing great too," Tomo jumped into the conversation, as they all continued on toward the destination they shared.

"Really? Have you brought anyone to justice?" ZaXo wondered allowed.

"I'm not that kind of lawyer," Tomo stated simply, holding her head up high. "I'm a personal lawyer; soon to be for the rich and famous. Haven't you seen my commercial?"

"Nope," everyone else said in unison, Tomo groaning.

**Post-Chapter 5**

Ten minutes of fun and talk went by, and soon, they had arrived. They were finally at Azumanga High; for the five year anniversary of when Sakaki and the others had graduated. ZaXo thought it strange that they were having a high school reunion so soon. But he couldn't complain. He wanted to see everyone again.

"Hey you guys!" a strongly accented voice from just inside the school called out. It was Osaka, Haru standing next to her. "How's everyone doin'?"

_Osaka's fantasy world consisted simply of an infinite space made up of white nothingness. Inside this deep, yet blank canvas were many odd, seemingly random items just floating about. Osaka stared everything, trying hard to think of what she was going to do next. As she unsuccessfully thought on, someone walked up next to her. It was a boy who was her age, but she couldn't tell whether she knew him or not. Instantly, while she stared curiously at the boy, ideas of all sorts began flooding her mind. As soon as they did, the items around the space began to come together forming something giant, though she didn't yet know what it was. On and on she stared at the boy, constantly having waves of new and amazing thoughts flow through her head. Very quickly the giant makeshift object grew until it had finally finished forming._

_Osaka broke her eyes from the boy to look at what had formed. Front and center was a giant castle of the likes she had never seen. It was big enough to fit anything and everything she could ever want in it. Yet she strangely didn't seem to want to fill it with any possessions, as it already consisted of pretty much everything. She decided that she was going to fill it with all the creative knowledge she could muster._

_As she walked up to the door to her new home, everything vanished. "Huh?" Osaka wondered, more curious than frightened. A new environment popped up right before her eyes, the girl just staring._

_..."Did he just run away?" Sakaki asked in shock. _

"_He has a problem with this sort of thing. Thinks it'll steal his soul or somethin'. I don't know where he ran off to," Osaka explained, looking around. She placed one arm at her side, the other wrapping around to grab the first at the elbow..._

"So, Osaka. Tell us about the success you and Haru have been having in life," Kagura said, not knowing what kind of answer to expect from her eccentric friend.

"Well, I'm teachin' at HKU," Osaka started.

"But I thought you got a degree in rocket science?" Tomo questioned in confusion.

"I did, but the last teacher quit. Before he left, he recommended me to Nyamo for the job though."

"Didn't expect that at all," ZaXo stated, reading everyone's minds.

"Haru's been workin' with Kaorin and Emi. They started a company 'bout makin' clothes. It's getting' a lotta business already."

"Sakaki and I knew that," ZaXo told her. "I'm wearing some of the clothes Haru designed right now."

"Oh yeah. I can't believe I ever thought that line of clothing was a good idea," Haru spoke up frankly, in disgust.

"So, you must spend a lot of time with Nyamo and Yukari then, right?" Yomi interrupted, looking back to Osaka.

"Not really. Yukari seems ta be avoidin' me. I'm not sure why though," Osaka explained. "And Nyamo has been spendin' a lot of time with her boyfriend."

"Who's she dating? Do we know him?" Tomo asked fervently, excited for details.

"Oh, she's datin' Yukari's husband's brother," Osaka said simply.

"She's dating Dwayne?" ZaXo gasped in amazement. "That doesn't make sense at all!"

"Nah, she's with their other brother, Marcus," Osaka replied, not understanding why everyone was sighing in relief.

"Are they all going to be here?" Seijin asked.

"Nah, they couldn't make it. But they send their best regards," Osaka finished.

"What about Kaorin and Emi?" ZaXo questioned, looking to Haru.

"Kaorin wanted to come so much, but one of her hit clothing lines blew up in the popularity department just a few days ago. She has a lot of work to do, bringing the line to America. So her, Emi, and Emi's new boyfriend had to leave yesterday."

**Post-Chapter 6**

"There you are," Kagura stated suddenly, walking inside, past Osaka and Haru. "I thought you said you were going home to change before coming back?"

"I didn't have time. There were a few kids who wanted help after school. I couldn't say no," Chiyo shrugged, smiling at everyone.

_Chiyo was having a great time, just talking to two of her friends as they took a stroll through the park. Just as the group passed over a bridge near the center of the park, the scenery around her began to change, morphing into another location she seemed to know quite well, though it was much more vivid than the park she had just been in. Chiyo was now all alone in Class Three of her old high school. She instinctively sat in the desk she usually did up in the front, but was confused as to why nobody else was there._

_As she started to ponder where they may be, the door at the front of the room slid open, and in walked a boy she'd never seen before. 'Where is Ms. Yukari?', she wondered to herself. But before she could ask her question aloud, she felt the answer come to her. She knew that this boy was supposed to be a sort of mentor to her, so she figured he was substituting._

_The boy looked extremely odd to Chiyo, as he was the only thing in the dream that wasn't far more vivid that normal. Actually, no matter how hard she looked and how much she concentrated, Chiyo couldn't seem able to grasp at what he looked like. He simply stood there while frustration slowly enveloped the young girl. Why couldn't she see who he was? Casually the boy walked up to her and her mood swiftly changed. Something about this mysterious person was warm and pacifying, calming Chiyo down a great deal._

_The young man reached out and touched his hand to her shoulder. Chiyo didn't know why, but she felt that she could trust him completely, though they had never met before. "It's okay Chiyo. I'll do my best to keep you safe," he told her softly. Chiyo could feel him smiling, yet she couldn't actually see it._

_As she was about to ask him who he was, it all began to fade away once again. She stood from her desk, as it disappeared too, another world forming almost instantaneously._

_..."C'mon everyone!" Chiyo cheered in glee, skipping out away from the others a few feet. She set everything up, and walked back to the group. "I want us all to remember this forever."..._

"Chiyo Mihama; workaholic to the end," ZaXo stated loudly, before stepping inside the school to see his old friend. Woah!" he yelled, seeing quite a difference in the way she looked. Beside the fact that she now looked just like a grown woman, her hair had grown a _lot_. Though he was glad to see that it was still put up in her signature pigtails.

"So you ended up teaching English at our old high school then, huh Chiyo-Chan... I mean, Ms. Mihama?" Yomi inquired.

"Yes. It's so fun getting to spend my time with all the cute children. They remind me so much of us sometimes."

**Post-Chapter 7**

Everyone spent the next few hours reminiscing in Yukari's old classroom, and talking about what they'd been doing. ZaXo had to admit, he missed this a lot. He had of course gotten used to not having everyone around, but seeing them again brought back the feelings he'd had the day that they last departed.

"So ZaXo, you haven't told us what you've been doing with your life," Kagura spoke up, breaking him from his train of thoughts, and forcing him into the conversation.

"Oh, I've just been writing jingles for various commercials and companies. I actually am in the middle of writing the new song for Pet Place. Since Sakaki's shop is so close to Mr. Yamauchi's-" ZaXo stopped, before looking over to the girl in his arms. "-and because she likes to go in their so often, we once again know him quite well. His business has been booming recently, and Sakaki-Nyan told him of my 'musical talents'. So he offered me the job of coming up with his new jingle, and he's paying me over triple what I usually get. I guess helping him out back in the day paid off in more than one way."

"So... are you gonna use some of that cash for a ring; you know, to propose to Sakaki?" Tomo whispered in ZaXo's ear, giving him a thumbs up. Sakaki turned her head slightly, trying to hear what her friend was saying. But she was unsuccessful.

ZaXo felt his face grow warm, that thought just now crossing his mind for the first time.

"Hey, before anyone decides that they should get going, I wanted us to all do something important together," Chiyo changed subjects, purposefully being vague with what she was thinking.

"What did you have in mind?" Sakaki questioned curiously.

"Just follow me," Chiyo announced, walking back toward the front of the school. ZaXo and the others followed. As he stepped out into the evening light, a flood of memories starting coming back to him; memories that he hadn't seen since the night before his first day at HKU...

_ZaXo walked out of Azumanga High, so many others following in stride. He saw a girl just in front, guiding them along. He wasn't sure, but he felt that he knew her from somewhere. He looked around, and gained the same feeling from all the others that were with him. The weirdest part was that they were all, strangely blurry. He couldn't seem to get a grasp on who they were._

_Suddenly, a massive rush of knowledge entered ZaXo's mind, as he realized who everyone was._

"_C'mon everyone!" Chiyo cheered in glee, skipping out, away from the others a few feet. She pulled a camera from her pocket, and set it up nearby, before walking back to the group. "I want us all to __remember this forever."_

_Before Chiyo could get to them, Haru ran inside the school, covering his face."Did he just run away?" Sakaki asked in shock. _

"_He has a problem with this sort of thing. Thinks it'll steal his soul or somethin'. I don't know where he ran off to," Osaka explained, looking around. She placed one arm at her side, the other wrapping around to grab the first at the elbow._

"_I'll go get him," Seijin announced, following Haru inside._

"_So why isn't he joining in?" Tomo asked Yomi, looking back at the man in question. She clearly hadn't been paying attention._

"_He's trying to find 'you know who', and bring him back here. We'll make sure to get at least one with all of us," Yomi replied, stepping up next to her friend, and smiling._

"_I've been meaning to ask; why are you two dressed like that anyway?" ZaXo questioned, looking toward Tomo and Yomi._

"_Tomo thought it would be a good idea to dress extra nice. But obviously it wasn't, because everyone else is in normal clothing," Yomi explained._

_Chiyo-Chan ushered Kagura into position, before bending over a bit and sticking her tongue out. Kagura chuckled, and gave a large smile, placing her hand on the younger girl's head._

_ZaXo wrapped his arm around Sakaki from behind, making her feel warm; she felt loved. They looked toward each other, as she placed her hand on his face. Her touch was so invitingly caring, he couldn't help but grin._

"_What are you doing?" Yomi looked at Tomo, raising an eyebrow._

"_I'm trying to look sexy," Tomo replied, placing her hands on her hips._

"_But you're in my way," Yomi retorted in annoyance, as a flash blinded her for a second._

_When the picture was over, ZaXo stepped forward a few feet. He looked into the sky as a gust of wind brought several Cherry Blossom petals down toward him. ZaXo reached out a hand, one of them landing in his palm. It lingered a moment, filling ZaXo with pure happiness inside. He simply stared, as it and all of the other tiny petals were once again whisked away in a small, comforting zephyr._

As the events he'd just seen in his mind's eye began to unfold before him, ZaXo couldn't help but repeat a single phrase under his breath:

"Sweet memories..."

*****The End*****

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**Mmm, happy ending :) A quick note to you all. The next two chapters aren't actually part of the story, but I think at least a few people might find them interesting. Also, check out the link on my profile to my deviantArt accound, to see a special drawing I did to commemorate two years of work, and a finished fic. I think you'll like it. Please, please review, and tell me what you thought of the whole fic. Be as detailed as possible :D Anyway, Hope You Liked :)**


	37. Secret Chapter One

**Hello every-nyan, and welcome to one of two special 'non-edit' chapters from Azumanga Daioh: Higher Education. These chapters will consist of the two parts I wrote before I actually started this fanfiction. They have not been changed at all; they are completely original (or as original as I still have... I think this one actually had an even earlier version that I just saved the first rewrite over), spelling errors, stupid intro, and everything. It's hard to post these, because they're pretty bad, lol. But I just figured somebody in the world has to be interested in it. Get some insight into what started this great adventure we've all been on together. I'll also talk a little bit at the end of each, about the chapters and the ideas behind them, as well as two FAQ (Fricken Awesome Questions) sections (one has spoilers, one does not). So, without further ado, let's begin. Everything Azumanga Daioh belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Azumanga Daioh DX: ZaXo's Story**

What if the story of Azumanga Daioh was different?

What if there was an extra person in the group of girls?

This is an alternate version of Azumanga written as if there was a boy in the mix... a boy named ZaXo Ken'Ichi. Even though this is not his real last name (he was born outside of Japan), he adopted it as to fit in a little better. Here is his story.

**Chapter 24**

The sky was a gentle, vibrant blue this morning as ZaXo walked to school. While walking, ZaXo just stared at it, knowing that this was a rare occurence in Tokyo because of pollution. He was going to remember this day forever, not just because of the sky. He just didn't know why yet. Of course, he had remembered most of his "adventures" in Japan so far. Almost every day was a new and exciting one because of the friends he had made.

As ZaXo got about half way to the school, he met up with most of the gang. Tomo, Yomi, Osaka, and Kagura were there. The only two that were missing were Sakaki, and Chiyo-Chan. This struck ZaXo as odd, since they both lived in the same neighborhood as him, and they usually walked all the way to school together. Actually, recently Sakaki had been spending the night at Chiyo's house a lot. She had Maya to look after, but she of course couldn't do it at her house. Usually, ZaXo would meet them at Chiyo's house, and they would talk all the way to school. But when he got to her house today, they weren't outside. When he rang the buzzer, nobody answered. So he figured they were in a hurry this morning for some reason and continued without them.

Nontheless, he enjoyed talking with the rest of the girls. When they arrived at the school, they were having a great time making fun of Tomo's shoes. She had overslept, and in her hurry to catch her friends, she put on two shoes from completely different pairs. But the conversation changed when Osaka started on another one of her

conspiracies, this time about the teachers actually being part cat. ZaXo knew that Sakaki would have loved to hear about this one. As he took off his outdoor shoes, he decided he would tell her about it later. When they were all done getting what they needed, and putting there shoes away, they began to walk up to the classroom.

They slowly walked up the three flights of stairs, Osaka heaving from talking and climbing at the same time. She really needs to exercise more, ZaXo thought with at little chuckle. When they approached the door to Class 3, everyone stopped at the doorway to finish listening to Osaka. When she was done, ZaXo turned to enter the classroom. He immediately noticed Sakaki in her seat in the back of the room, tears streaming down her face. He looked back to see if the others had noticed. They had, and he could tell they were planning on all bombarding her with questions. As Kagura began to move into the class towards Sakaki, ZaXo held his hand up. She stopped and looked at him for an explanation.

"Listen," ZaXo said quietly, "I don't want everyone attacking her when something is wrong like this. I think since she talks to me a lot, I should go talk to her alone. She is likely to just get more upset if we all go up at once. I am sure she will fill you in later today. Just go easy on her when she does."

They all gave a nod to say they understood, which surprised ZaXo for a second. He had half expected, Tomo especially, to tell him to forget it, and run up there anyway. But he figured that all that happened last month gained him massive respect and trust from the others. So ZaXo turned and began to walk towards Sakaki. She now had her face in her hands, and didn't notice him approach until he was right beside her.

He pulled up the desk next to hers, and sat down.

"Sakaki. What's wrong? What happened?", ZaXo asked her as politely as possible. She said nothing, but just gave a slight jump as she let out a sob.

"Sakaki, please talk to me. Is it something else wrong with Chiyo? Where is she?"

Finally Sakaki choked out, "Sh-She's f-fine. She said she wanted t-to go get me a gl-glass of water, and some ti-tissues. It's Maya. Maya is s-sick."

"What? But Maya just recovered from coming all the way here.", ZaXo

exclaimed.

"I know. But h-he won't eat at all. Then all of a sudden, h-he got sick and fainted this morning. So Chiyo and I rushed him to th-the vetranarian. He said he couldn't t-tell what was wrong. Still, he assured m-me that Maya would be fine. But...", Sakaki stopped mid-sentence and her eyes widened.

"But what Sakaki?", ZaXo asked softly.

"BUT WHAT IF HE'S NOT *sob, sob, sob*", Sakaki cried. Her tears were once again renewed, and she buried her face in ZaXo's chest, crying more heavily than ever before.

She continued, "I finally got a cat, something real to love, that loved me back! Now he may die, and I don't know why! He's so young, it's not FAIR!"

She once again began crying into his chest, which was still in much pain from being stabbed saving Chiyo. But he overlooked it to comfort her. ZaXo lifted his hand, and began slowly stroking the top of her head hoping this would make her feel better. He glanced over at the others who were still in the doorway, talking amongst eachother, most likely about what was going on. They kept occasionally glancing over at him and then down at Sakaki.

"Don't worry, I am sure he will be alright.", said ZaXo in comfort. "Maya is a wildcat after all. He can handle much more than any normal cat. The vet wouldn't say he would be alright if it wasn't true."

"You really think so?", sobbed Sakaki.

"I know so. Don't worry about it. We will all go with you to check on him directly after school. You'll see, Maya will be fine."

"Ok, I trust you ZaXo.", Sakaki said softly, and she lifted her head to look in his eyes.

ZaXo wished this moment could last forever, but as Sakaki began wiping the tears off of her face, the solitude was broken by Chiyo walking up with tissues and water. The others weren't far behind. But ZaXo looked at them as to say, 'I'll explain later, don't ask now.' Everyone seemed to once again understand, and said nothing. Chiyo finally broke the silence by attempting to ask Sakaki if she was feeling any better. This wasn't the only reason why ZaXo would remember this day forever. Much more was to come, and potentially change a few lives in the process.

**Chapter 25**

Throughout the rest of the day, everything went fairly smooth with

Sakaki. She slowly began to act more like herself, and even laughed when ZaXo told her about Osaka's new conspiracy. This made her excited to see Maya after school. They had decided they would all meet right outside the school next to the big tree. And they would all go see Maya together. But the happiness didn't last forever. Tomo made sure of that. With only five or so minutes until school got over she began to talk about what would happen if Maya had passed away while they were at school. It would have just been normal Tomo-ness and could have been overlooked had Sakaki not been nearby when she said it. This threw Sakaki back into tears, and she ran out of the room crying. Chiyo said she would go check on her and meet them outside by the tree.

Class ended minutes later and they all began to walk out towards their shoe cubbies, scolding Tomo along the way. ZaXo really felt like checking on Sakaki, so he told the others that he was going to go on ahead. Immediately after he left they began talking about him and Sakaki.

"So, do you think they are going out yet? We all know they both like eachother.", said Kagura.

"No, I don't think so. I don't think that ZaXo wants to ask because he fears Sakaki might feel pressured into saying yes whether she wants to or not." , replied Yomi.

"But we know she would want to. I see her staring at him in class all the time. And he does it to her too. Why doesn't she ask him?", wondered Tomo aloud.

"Tomo, you idiot. You know that Sakaki isn't brave enough to ask him out. We've all known her for three years now, and she still doesn't even talk to us that much. Come to think about it, we only recently found out that she likes animals a lot when we went on the school trip.", exclaimed Yomi.

"Wait... does that mean she didn't like it when I was scaring cats away from her all the time?", asked Kagura.

"Yeah, I am pretty sure that is exactly what that means. But I don't think she cares now. She is smart enough to know she can't be mad at you if you didn't know.", said Yomi matter of factly.

"It doesn't make sense though. If she was brave enough to go with ZaXo to help Chiyo out last month, then asking someone out should be cake.", Tomo said.

"Those are two different things Tomo. She told me she felt she had to help Chiyo. Asking a guy out is different entirely. But I don't expect you to know that Tomo.", wispered Yomi slyly.

"HEY, JUST BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ASK A GUY OUT!", yelled Tomo, stopping in her tracks.

She continued, "And besides, I bet I could get a boyfriend before you

Yomi. Your too fat. No guy would want to date you."

Tomo had just went one step two far and the two began to yell so loud that the whole floor could hear them. Kagura cheered them both on, trying to be on both sides at once, while Osaka just stared at them all with a blank face, clearly thinking something strange.

Down on the bottom floor of the school, ZaXo had just gotten all his stuff, and put his shoes back on. He began to jog through the halls, and out the front doors. He made it to the tree where Chiyo was waiting. She told him that Sakaki had been crying in the restroom right inside the front doors, and was trying to compose herself before she came out. Chiyo told her she would wait outside.

They began to wait, however, when almost five minutes had went by, and nobody was showing up, ZaXo's concern got the best of him. He decided they should go see what was taking everyone so long.

"They should have met up with us by now" ZaXo told Chiyo, as they walked back into the school, just in time to see it.

Some length down the hall Sakaki, had just left the restroom, and was walking quickly towards them, when she bumped into another student. This student was a tall, thin boy, and looked furious when she bumped him. She had accidentaly knocked the books out of his hands, and bent down to pick them up. She began to appologize profusely, and stood up to hand him his books. The boy, who had clearly blown a

gasket, grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her against the wall. Then he kicked the books Sakaki had dropped in shock out of his way, and walked towards her, eyes glowing with rage. Immediately, and without warning he slapped her across the right side of her face, but didn't utter a single word.

ZaXo heard Chiyo gasp, far behind him. He hadn't even noticed that he was now in a sprint toward the two, and didn't know what he was going to do next. All he knew was that the boy must pay for what he had done to Sakaki. ZaXo lunged out, grabbed the boy in mid stride, and threw his whole weight on the boy, who smashed into the wall behind him. He heard Sakaki cry out behind him in surprise. The boy retaliated by punching ZaXo across the face. ZaXo lost his balance and the boy took that chance to tackle him to the ground.

But ZaXo countered the next punch thrown at him, grabbing it in mid swing, and twisting the boys arm. He then threw him off, and jumped on top. ZaXo started to pound punch after punch into the boys face, not knowing he was even doing it, or that he was making a huge spectacle. But he suddenly stopped, becoming concious in his

surroundings. He felt Sakaki pulling on his arm, and heard her tearfully asking him to stop. ZaXo got up, and stepped around the now bleeding boy. He looked around, and saw that his friends were all surrounding him and the boy, wide-eyed in surprise, along with what was apparently some of the boys friends. Nobody else was in the entire hallway.

Realizing that he had gone too far, he offered an appologetic hand out to his injured schoolmate. The boy was hesitant, but when ZaXo said that he was very sorry, the boy reluctantly took his hand, and stood up. He was unbalanced for a second, obviously dizzy from getting hit so many times. He began to run away when ZaXo grabbed his arm and stopped him. The boy continued to try and escape, but eventually gave up. They both took a second to calm down before saying anything. Everyone just stared at them, expecting someone to throw another punch.

**Chapter 26**

"Hey, listen, are you ok? I am REALLY sorry that I did that. I just kind of lost it. Do you want me to help you to the infirmary?", asked ZaXo appologeticly.

"No, ib ok. Ib de one dat should abbologize.", the boy sighed, through a clearly broken nose that was steadily bleeding. "I kind ob deserbed dat. But did you hab to hit be so hard?"

"I'm really sorry. Like I said, I just lost it, and didn't know what I was doing. How many times did I hit you?"

"Oh, at least twelb. It's hard to tell bwhen you are getting pummeled into the ground.", joked the boy. His eyes were beginning to swell and bruise, much like the rest of his face. He continued on in a more serious tone, "Well, anyway, I kind ob lost it too. I really shouldn't have hit you Biss.. uhh..."

"Sa-Sakaki." Sakaki said, still shaking and in shock.

"Yeah, I ab sorry Biss Sakaki. I shouldn't hab hit you. I just... you see, by girlfriend broke up with me today, and I failed by math exab. And my parents are bad at be for accidentaly ruining the dishwasher. All this, abong other things just kind of caused be to snap on you. I probise I will never do anything like that again to anyone. Is there anything I can do to bake it up to you?", the boy finished.

"N-no, it's ok. I understand.", Sakaki wispered.

ZaXo could tell she didn't think it was ok, and neither did he, but if she was willing to overlook it, he didn't want to push it. So he cautiously buried the anger that was once again welling up inside him. He decided that he should just be stern with the boy.

ZaXo began, "Ok, now, like I said, I didn't mean to go off like that this time. But, as with Sakaki, you also have to promise me that you won't do that again to anyone either. I am not trying to be mean here, but if I EVER catch you doing anything like that to anyone again, I WILL mean it, next time, and I won't let up or appologize."

The boys friends glared at ZaXo angrily on that note, but the boy

spoke right as one of them was about to speak up about it. "I understand, and I know I would deserb it. You can count on be. I probise that I won't do anything like that again. And I also will bake sure that the teachers don't hear about this."

"What about your parents? What will they say when you get home? I don't exactly want to get in trouble with them either.", stated ZaXo.

"Don't worry. I will explain to theb that it was all by fault. I cobpletely accept that, and I ab sure they will too. Well, i'd better get home to fix by face.", said the boy.

They all started laughing, and said goodbye. The boy stopped, and turned back after taking a few steps. He looked at Sakaki and said, "I will bake it up to you Biss Sakaki. Eben if you don't want be to, you deserve it, and I feel entitled to do so." He gave one last smile, and continued on with his friends, who were clearly ranting and raving over how ZaXo had reacted.

ZaXo looked at all of his friends, and they just stared back at him for a second. Then Tomo suddenly yelled, "THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"NO IT WASN'T TOMO!", Yomi yelled back.

"Did you guys see it all? Like, all of it from the start?", asked ZaXo, looking for a way to explain himself. He was suddenly not feeling like the big respected man he had felt like earlier. He felt like an outcast, but when they nodded, he felt a little better.

"Yeah, we saw it all, but I still don't believe it. Sakaki is so nice, polite and quiet. Why would anyone want to hit her, even if she bumps into them on a bad day?", asked Kagura.

Sakaki blushed, turned her head away, and hid her face in her hands. ZaXo guessed that Sakaki was probably mad at him for everything that happened. But before he could say anything. Everyone began to walk down the hall, and started talking loudly about everything that had just happened. They walked and talked with ZaXo in silence, and Chiyo consoling Sakaki quietly until they reached the Vetranary office.

Inside they spent almost two hours playing with the newly healthy Maya. The doctor said that the problem was with Maya being alone during the school days. "He really needs companionship throughout the day. But since I know you can't do that, as you have school, feel free to bring him here everyday on your way to school. He loves playing with the other animals... well, except for the birds, who he tries to eat. Are you sure that he is just a mixed breed cat Miss Sakaki?", asked the vet.

"Oh, um, yes I am sure he is just a mix.", lied Sakaki quickly.

"Well, alright then, is it alright that you bring him here? It's not out of your way is it?"

"No, of course not. It's perfectly fine doctor.", Chiyo chimed in.

They all spent a while longer together before Yomi and Tomo left. "I've gotta go do my homework, so I'll see you all tommorow.", said Yomi.

"Yeah, and I've got to go copy that homework.", Tomo spouted out.

Then Kagura got up. "I need to go get in some excercise and

ATTEMPT to do my homework. I'll see you later Sakaki. See you ZaXo, see you Chiyo, bye Osaka."

They all said goodbye to her, and she left. It took a while for Osaka to leave. She spent most of her time asking the vet about wierd things

different animals did, and usually ended up assuming most of them may have come from another planet on a meteor. When she finally left, the last three decided it would be best to walk home as well. As they began to walk, ZaXo felt it was finally time to talk to Sakaki. He stopped walking, and Sakaki and Chiyo followed his lead, curious to see why he had done so.

"Listen Sakaki, I know you don't think violence is ever the answer, but I want you to know that I didn't mean to hit him. I just lost control. I can't stand to see good people in danger, and the last month has made me edgy. I promise that is the only time I have ever gotten into a fight before. It's not a regular thing with me, and it never was before I moved here. And it never will be. However, I did mean what I said to him. If he tries anything with anyone again, I will stop him. Same goes for if anyone else tries to start anything with someone who doesn't deserve it. I just can't stand there and not defend those that need it. But I will never hurt anyone unjustly, and I will try my best not to lose control again. I hope you understand that, and accept it. I don't want you to think I am some maniac, and I don't want to ruin our friendship.", ZaXo said carefully.

Sakaki and Chiyo just looked at him for a while. So he continued, "Do you understand Sakaki? Can we still be frie-"

Sakaki interrupted him by softly saying, "No, I don't want to be your friend anymore." ZaXo was shocked by what he had just heard, but what happened next blew that out of the water. Sakaki then wrapped her arms around him an began to kiss him. They continued to kiss for a couple more seconds, while Chiyo's eyes widened, until Sakaki pulled away. "I don't wanna JUST be your friend, ZaXo. I... I think I love you.", Sakaki wispered, blushing profusely.

She started again, "I have liked you since you first came here. I just couldn't admit it, because I was afraid you wouldn't like me back. But then when you saved Chiyo, I started to feel more. I love you ZaXo. Do you... like me too?"

Taken aback, ZaXo just stared at her wide-eyed for a second. Then he suddenly said, "I love you too. I have liked you as well since I got here. You are always so quiet, and polite. You are adorable, and cute, and beautiful all at the same time. Ever since the day I met you, everything about you has always been perfect. I was also afraid you didn't like me back either."

"Oh, ZaXo!", Sakaki cried, once again wrapping her arms around him, in a warm, blissfull hug. Again he wished this moment would last forever.

Chiyo had been quiet until now, and they didn't notice that she was crying. "Oh, I knew you two liked eachother! I wish I could have something like that when I get older! You two are sooooo cute together!"

Chiyo yelled, happily.

They broke apart, and looked at her smiling, and both blushing gave her a big hug too. When they stopped, ZaXo looked down at Chiyo.

"How long did you know we both liked eachother?", he asked her, unable to stem the happiness pouring out of him.

"Oh, I have known for a while now. Since about half way through second year! I was wondering when this would happen. I was about to just do it myself.", Chiyo stated.

"Hey, do you think the others know we like eachother?", Sakaki asked.

"No, I don't think so Miss Sakaki, though they don't talk about stuff like that around me. Not since Nyamo gave that speech at my summer home when she had too much to drink.", said Chiyo.

"In that case, then we should keep this a secret from them for now. I wanna wait to see thier reactions. Can you promise not to tell them Chiyo?", said Sakaki quietly.

"Oh, yes, I promise Miss Sakaki. I won't tell them anything."

"Oh yeah, I remember that speech that Nyamo gave. Ha ha ha, that was great!", shouted ZaXo.

"I still don't understand most of what she said. Everyone just blushes and won't tell me anything when I ask them about it.", Chiyo said, slightly sour.

They all laughed, and continued walking, ZaXo with his arm wrapped around Sakaki's shoulders, who was now holding Maya, sleeping soundly. They all three were positively beaming, as if nobody could ruin the day. And indeed nothing would. They all walked on in silence, enjoying the still clear and vibrant sky, though now it was a

beautiful orange and yellow mix, for the sun had begun to set. ZaXo knew from that moment on, that this was a day he would remember for a long, long time.

* * *

**Wow... that's pretty bad, and very different. As you can see (for those that came in a bit later especially), the title was originally DX: ZaXo's Story. It went on like that for nearly ten or so chapter I think, before I changed it. Obviously, by that point I realized that it made the whole thing seem too much like a self-insert (for prospective readers), or some lame story that was all about some Gary-Stu 'getting some' from the Azu girls. When I first started writing the fanfic, I was actually writing a novelized version of the anime. I got through around thirty thousand words, and four episodes in just three days! So this was planned to fit in to that. Obviously, I quickly realized that wasn't an idea that would keep me interested. Playing and pausing the DVD's for hours, writing down all the lines, and describing the scenes just became too tedious, not to mention it just wasn't that creative (plus, if you prefer the subbed version, the lines wouldn't match anyway).**

**Because of this, I was left stranded. I didn't know what to do, but it had to be something original, and I HAD to be able to fit in the two original pieces I'd already written. I almost instantly knew I wanted to do something about them in college (it seemed like the obvious next step). Therefore, I began... and I had no clue where I was going to go with it, lol. However, by the time I'd written the prologue, I started to feel ideas rushing in.**

**One thing you'll notice about this part, is the fact that the person who becomes Yuu Takeshi in the final version, actually ends up apologizing. I actually didn't intend him to have the role he does in the final version until later on (somewhere around chapter fifteen or so). But the idea made so much sense, I just went for it. However, that meant that this version needed a LOT of modifying (including grammatical of course). I also changed the fight setting to the park while it's raining. The only other big change was in the fact that Yuu has friends here. I felt he needed them at that point, but once he became an evil mastermind, that seemed stupid; particularly because he rants and raves about how being close to someone (Sakaki) is a bad idea. I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't want to be friends with a guy who doesn't really like being close to people at all.**

**Fricken Awesome Questions (FAQ Section) Part 1:**

**Q. Where did my inspiration for this fic come from?**

**A. As I explained above, it was partially from my original idea of novelizing the Azumanga series. However, there's one thing I've only told a select few people about how I came across the need to write a novel size fanfiction about Azumanga. The chapter above... was actually a dream I had. I had been watching a LOT of Azu recently, and just loved it. I couldn't get enough. When I went to sleep one night, I had a dream that matched this chapter fairly closely. The part that made it impossible for me not to write it down was the fact that it wasn't ME in the dream. I'd never really experienced that before. I didn't know who it was, as I couldn't tell, but it wasn't me (that also gave me the idea of blurring ZaXo out in all the prologue dreams). The second I woke up (in the middle of the night), I had to write it down. Seven hours and four thousand words later, I had my first chapter. At this time, I didn't even know FanFiction existed (the website). But I had to find some place to post it. Good thing I thought that through a little more, and made it a whole story, right?**

**Q. Where in the HECK does the name ZaXo come from, and how do you even say it?**

**A. Everyone seems to want to know this one. First off, it's pronounced Zack-So. Pretty easy right? It actually doesn't mean anything, and isn't from any particular culture (I've looked that up again and again to make sure). I found the name when I was much younger while playing Super Smash Bros. Melee. I was making a player name (to keep my records), and couldn't think of something cool that was only four letters (the max length). So I just hit the randomize button... over and over and over. Suddenly, that popped up, and it stuck like glue. It was originally going to be used as Cloud Strife's son's name (Final Fantasy 7), in a sequel me and a friend were planning. Then I decided it deserved something all it's own. It will also be the name of the main character of my first manga series (including his last name; Ken'Ichi), so look out for that.**

**Q. What about the other names you came up with? Any rhyme or reason to those?**

**A. Personally, I don't like using normal names at all. In my original stories on FictionPress, I always try to use strange names or names that mean something that matches the character. If I absolutely can't think of anything, I'll take a normal name, and change it, so that it is strange. So when using Japanese names for everyone else in my fanfiction, I didn't know where to go. I couldn't make them up, or I'd sound stupid. But everyone HAD to be Japanese, or it would be weird. Then I found a website that has tons of names, from tons of cultures on it. The best part is that it tells you what they mean as well. So I found names that fit the characters (for the most part).**

**Q. Did you actually plan this fanfiction to go this long?**

**A. Yes, I did. It was actually supposed to be even longer. I cut out and combine several chapters that would have otherwise just become filler. Every chapter had to be at least three thousand words as well. It was going to end up at about 180k words in the very beginning. And the craziest part? I had set up a deadline of about six months to finish! You see, I was writing around a chapter a night at first (as well as other fanfictions and short stories on the side). But that burnt me out. Truthfully, I'm surprised I even got it done at all. There were a few times where I almost decided to give up. But almost always right as I was about to throw in the towel, I would get a great idea, or someone would leave a great review or PM.**

**Q. How do you come up with the comedic bits?**

**A. Lol, really I just come up with most of them on the spot. My favorite styles to write are romance and tragedy, so while I LOVE comedy, it's hard for me to plan out and execute. So I would plan the main section of the chapter, and then just wing everything else. Seriously, I'm surprised at how funny (I think) some of the things I've come up with are. Though none of it would have been possible without Kiyohiko Azuma, and his great series to pull from. Now that I can successfully do comedy though, it will be part of my manga, which will feel like this fanfic, in the sense that it will have tons of comedy, character evolution, romance, and maybe some darker bits. I think that's what makes a great story, is a lot of well rounded styles (I learned that from reading Harry Potter... yes, Harry Potter).**

**Q. So if you didn't plan any of the comedy, what did you plan?**

**A. I planned all of the serious bits, and slowly connected them together. Whenever I was feeling like writing a particularly dark part, I would shove one in a later chapter, but only if it was a good idea. Then my mind would eventually start connecting them to the bigger picture in the story.**

**Q. What are your inspirations, other than Azumanga, that helped you write this?**

**A. Well, when I first found this website, I started reading. I would read anything that sounded sad, because I'd already had my current fill of Azu comedy. I wanted something different. The characters in Azu are so dynamic that they themselves become the story. They didn't need a set plot. So I wanted to see how people could use them in other styles. My favorite one has to be Forevergreen, by Brandon Payne (I hope he doesn't mind me saying so). Definitely read it. It's got a very, sort of... analytical approach to the writing style. It's very detailed in a way that isn't necessarily poetic most of the time, but is definitely interesting. Not to mention, the plot is fantastic. Some of the ideas in that fanfiction... are just... wow.**

**Other things that inspired me were various video games, like Lost Odyssey, and Final Fantasy (the series as a whole). But my biggest inspiration would have to be music. I am mainly a metal-head, but I'm far from cliché. I don't listen to Metallica, I don't only think heavier is better; nothing like that. I look at it as music, not a movement (unlike most people). My primary genre is power metal (Kamelot, Angra, Nocturnal Rites, etc.), which has a lot of emotion, and very epic vocals, which get ideas flowing for me. However, I do listen to many other genres, and even sometimes a few off-hand artists in genres I don't like. I listen to Hoobastank (Alternative Rock), Chuck Loeb (Smooth Jazz), City And Colour (Acoustic), Demi Lovato (yes, the girl from Disney), Katherine McPhee (only one album), Jyukai (J-Pop), Killswitch Engage ('metalcore'... which isn't a real genre title IMO), Isaac Shepard (Solo Piano), Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy music composer), and tons of other things. I feel the music in my very soul, and without it, I literally CAN'T write. It's so bad that it's to the point where my style gets extremely muddied and lazy without something emotionally engaging to listen to.**

**Q. Do you have more plans for these characters (and this storyline) after this?**

**A. As of now, no. And I probably won't ever do another fic this big. HOWEVER... that doesn't mean it's completely out of the question. If people want it, I'd love to try and deliver. It would allow me to explore different avenues and styles further anyway. So if you have any ideas, or are just dying to get more, then PM me, or leave it in a review of this chapter. I've got other things I want to work on, but if you guys want it enough, I'll be glad to try and do more. NOTE: There is however (as stated in the authors notes of the prologue) a prequel to this on my FictionPress account; link on my profile.**

**In the same vein as what I just stated, if anyone wants to continue this story-line themselves, or do spinoffs of this, or whatever, all they need to do is ask. Tell me the idea, and we'll try to work something out. I'm pretty much gonna be okay with anything that doesn't have lime/lemon, intense gore, too much cursing, is written lazily, or has WAY OOC actions from the characters (mine, or Kiyohiko's). I would like it if you asked me first though, as it's the nice thing to do :) I wouldn't have added this little paragraph, except for the fact that surprisingly enough (to me anyway), people do actually like to create spinoffs of other fics... fan-fanfictions if you will.**

**Q. Do you have other ideas in mind for other fandoms, or anything like that?**

**A. I have quite a few ideas, but most likely I'll never make anything out of them. I'll probably do the odd one-shot here and there, but nothing much else unless it's something fans demand (and I have an interesting idea of course). As for other things, I'll probably be writing (under the same pen-name) on FictionPress for quite a while. I've already got quite a few things put up (that are much more poetic in writing style), so check 'em out. And then there's my manga, but I can't tell you what that's about ;)**


	38. Secret Chapter Two

**Hello every-nyan, and welcome to the second special 'non-edit' chapter from Azumanga Daioh: Higher Education. As stated before, this chapter will consist of one of the two parts I wrote before I actually started this fanfiction. It has not been changed at all; it's completely original (or as original as I still have...), spelling errors and everything. It's hard to post this, because it's pretty bad, lol. But I just figured somebody in the world has to be interested in it. Get some insight into what started this great adventure we've all been on together. I'll also talk a little bit at the end about the chapter, and the ideas behind it. There's also a Fricken Awesome Questions section (this one has spoilers).**

**REALIZE BY THE WAY (IF YOU READ THE LAST NON-EDIT) THAT THIS NON-EDIT IS MUCH MUCH DIFFERENT FROM THE FINAL VERSION! So, without further ado, let's begin. Everything Azumanga Daioh belongs to it's respective owners. Happy Reading :)**

* * *

**Azumanga Daioh DX: ZaXo's Story**

What if the story of Azumanga Daioh was different?

What if there was an extra person in the group of girls?

This is an alternate version of Azumanga written as if there was a boy in the mix... a boy named ZaXo Ken'Ichi. Even though this is not his real last name (he was born outside of Japan), he adopted it as to fit in a little better. Here is his story.

**Chapter 19**

Things were going good for ZaXo ever since he had went on the school trip. Everything just seemed to run smoothly, and everyone was in a good mood. Sakaki was even talking more, Osaka seemed a little brighter than normal, and Yomi had laid off getting angry at Tomo for the silly things she did. As he sat at lunch with everyone, he thought, overall it was a very nice time in his life.

"Hey Sakaki, do you wanna hang out after school?", ZaXo asked, really hoping for a yes.

"Oh, uh, sure. That would be great. Where should we meet?", asked

Sakaki shyly.

"Umm, how about we all just walk home together like normal, but

instead we go to either your house or mine."

"Ok, we can go to your house. But can I pick something up from mine first?", she asked even more shy than before.

"Yeah, of course. So I guess that's it then. I'll see you later.", said ZaXo, as he got up to head back for class.

The day seemed to pass by very slowly from that point on. ZaXo was really very excited to spend time with Sakaki. He always liked to, but he felt this time would be different. Partially because nobody else would be with them, which was rare, but there was another reason. He just didn't know what that was. Today just felt... different. When school finally got over, he rushed out as fast as he could, and waited for everyone right

outside.

They walked most of the way home just listening to Tomo talking about her grades, and her crazy plot to get them higher. Osaka joined in by making a plan to break into the school and change her grades.

Everyone laughed except for Chiyo, who clearly thought Osaka was

actually willing to try it, and Tomo who really did think it over before

deciding her plan was better. As usual, ZaXo gave Chiyo a piggyback ride all the way to her house.

"I'll be back in a second.", said Sakaki.

"Wait, what are you doing?", asked ZaXo curiously.

"Oh, i forgot to tell everyone. I am living at Chiyo's house right now, to take care of Maya. The thing I want to get is in her house."

"Ahh, ok. I'll be waiting here.", stated ZaXo.

Chiyo made sure ZaXo was out of earshot before asking, "Miss

Sakaki, what are you and ZaXo doing today?"

Sakaki blushed heavily, and replied, "Well, he wants to hang out

today, and I want to show him the things I am getting for Maya in that

magazine."

"Oh, ok. I wish I could come, but my parents said I have to stay home

today. They are leaving for two days, so I can't do anything.", Chiyo said, pouting a bit.

"Uhh, yeah, I wish you could come too.", Sakaki lied.

She quickly ran upstairs, and ran back out with Maya, and the

magazine in hand. Chiyo waved goodbye, and walked back inside the house.

**Chapter 20**

Sakaki and ZaXo began to walk to his house, a few blocks further up. They talked about how well things were going in school and such on the way there. When they finally arrived, they went to his room. Sakaki

proceeded to show him the things in the magazine. They looked at it for quite a while. At least two hours went by, but ZaXo didn't mind. He didn't know why, but he seemed to get into things Sakaki was into. If Osaka, or someone else would have shown him something like this, he would have gone crazy after ten minutes. But something about Sakaki

enjoying it, just made it... interesting. After that was done, they continued to talk about school and their friends. Life was interesting when you had friends like they did. Both Sakaki, and ZaXo thouroughly enjoyed talking this much. The conversations never hit any snags. All was perfect.

"Hey, look outside. It's getting dark out.", Sakaki said.

"Oh, are you wanting to go home now? I can walk you."

"No, I don't want to go home yet. But we should go sit outside.", she

replied.

"Yeah, sure. I have a nice outdoor couch in the backyard. We can go sit there. C'mon." ZaXo knew there were other seats back there, but by

suggesting the couch, he could sit closer to her. He felt calm when he was next to her.

They got outside to the couch, and both sat right next to eachother, just staring into the sky as the stars appeared. Sakaki leaned over and rested her head on ZaXo's shoulder. He then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They sat in silence, just enjoying the bliss of having someone so close to them. They were there for about ten minutes, before Sakaki fell asleep. ZaXo looked at her, and smiled. But lazy blissfulness

enveloped him as well, and within a minute, he was sleeping too.

They slept through the night, and woke the next morning, just in time for school. They had eventually layed down, and Sakaki had her arms wrapped around him, her head on his chest. Maya was asleep in the yard. ZaXo was the first to wake. He rubbed his eyes, and tried to stretch. But before he could, he noticed Sakaki laying next to him, and fell off of the couch in shock.

"Whoa! Sakaki? What are you... oh, no.", he sait, realizing what had

happened.

"Huh, ZaXo, what are you doing in Chiyo's room this ear...ly" Sakaki slowed her speech when she saw where she was. "OH MY! We fell asleep here, and we've been here all night?"

"I guess so. We didn't do anything did we?", ZaXo asked, nerves getting the better of him.

"I don't remember anything."

Relaxing, ZaXo sighed, "Oh, yeah, neither do I. That's good. We just fell asleep."

"It's morning. What time is it, ZaXo?", Sakaki wondered aloud.

ZaXo looked at his watch and his eyes widened. "We have ten

minutes to get to school! Let's get going now!" The two got there things and ran. Sakaki stopped at Chiyo's house to drop off Maya, and then they

continued.

**Chapter 21**

They reached the classroom with five minutes before school started. Everyone was there... and they were all arguing. "Hey, sorry we're late. What's going on...", said ZaXo, but looking around he saw that Chiyo was missing. "Where's Chiyo?"

On that note, they all stopped and looked from him to Sakaki. "Oh, Sakaki, we thought something happened to you to. We're so glad you're ok!", cried Kagura, embracing Sakaki tightly.

The only one that didn't seem to look happy was Tomo, who was glaring furiously at ZaXo. "YOU BASTARD!", she yelled before lunging at him.

"What was that?", he yelled, breaking her grip on him, and holding back her arms, so she couldn't punch him.

"YOU TOOK CHIYO! YOU'RE IN ON IT, I JUST KNOW IT! YOU'RE THE ONLY GUY WHO HANGS OUT WITH HER! YOU JUST WANTED TO EARN HER TRUST SO THAT YOU COULD KIDNAP HER! WHY?"

, Tomo screamed at him.

"Wait, will someone tell me what is going on?", said ZaXo, worried now.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT'S GOI-"

"SHUT UP TOMO! I think he is serious.", interrupted Yomi, though she glared at ZaXo too, while Tomo let go of him.

"Ok, now what is happening here?", asked ZaXo.

"It's Chiyo, she never came to school today, and we thought you took her and Sakaki, so you could ransom 'em an kill 'em.", said Osaka, who was even angry at him.

"I can explain why Sakaki and I were late. We... uhh." ZaXo stopped, and wondered if he should tell the truth. Would they even believe him?

Probably not, so he lied instead. "Sakaki forgot something, um, a book at my house yesterday, and we got all the way here before we found that it was at my house. My house was locked up, so I had to go with her to get it."

"LIES!", yelled Tomo. "That would mean that Sakaki was at Chiyo's house when she dissapeared. You would have taken her too if that was the case. You must have chased her all the way here, and now you're

blackmailing her or something to act normal!"

"That's rediculous, Tomo. C'mon, you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone here. I really care for Chiyo, and wouldn't make her

'dissapear'. Now what's actually going on?", ZaXo finished, starting to get annoyed, and afraid for Chiyo, along with himself.

"Well, just take a look at this note we found on her desk.", said Yomi, handing it to him.

"He's already seen it Yomi. After all, he wrote it, snuck in the school and put it on her desk!"

"TOMO, SHUT IT!", yelled Yomi again.

ZaXo's eyes widened as he read the note. 'Dear friends of Chiyo Mihama. You must be wondering where your always punctual friend is about now. I have taken her, and if you want her back, you have to do exactly what I say. Do not speak to anyone of authority. Instead, all of you need to come to the house at the address on the back of this note, and knock three times on the door to the house. I will explain what I want from that point on. Sincerely yours, ...'

"You... you all think I did this? How could I? I never...", ZaXo stopped, at a loss for words. It was almost enough to make him tear up. How could his friends of almost three years think he would take poor young

Chiyo-Chan like this? Whoever really did it was sick, he thought.

Just then, Sakaki spoke out. "He couldn't have done it. He lied. I... I was with him all night."

"WHAT?", they all said, including ZaXo.

"No, Sakaki, if you don't feel comfortable telling them, you don't have to defend me.", stated ZaXo.

"No, it's ok. It's unfair that they blame you. ZaXo did really ask me to hang out yesterday. But we accidentaly fell aleep on the couch in is

backyard... accidentaly. I was with him all night, and he didn't go

anywhere. Besides, I trust ZaXo. I know that he would never do anything like this. So then we rushed to get here. It is my fault that Chiyo is gone. If I had been there, this wouldn't have happened.", said Sakaki.

"Well, I still don't trust him, but we have more important matters to

attend to right now.", snarled Tomo.

"Ain't that right. We gotta go find Chiyo-Chan", stated Osaka.

"Ok, then lets all go find that house.", offered Kagura.

"I don't care if you all don't trust me. I am coming too. I need to help Chiyo.", ZaXo said, too worried to agree if they tried to tell him not to come with.

They all ran out of the classroom, just as the bell rang. They sprinted past Yukari, who didn't even notice who just went by her.

"Heh, silly kids ditching school. That's not how you do it. Your not

suppose to come to school at all. Eh, whatever.", she said to herself.

When they got outside, they looked at the address. It was a few blocks from Sakaki's house. They hurried on, but the whole time Tomo was stating why ZaXo was untrustworthy. She had some good points. He was the one who asked Sakaki to hang out, possibly so that she wasn't there while his lackies took Chiyo. It also happened when he knew Chiyo's parents would be gone, though, he defended himself by saying that he didn't know that until after they left Chiyo's house, because

Sakaki had told him then. Luckily, the others were done listening to her, and had decided to trust him.

Finally, they arrived at the house in question. It had a yard about the size of Chiyo's, but it was a considerably smaller home. They all stopped, and just stared at it for a bit. The gate was a giant swing gate connected to big brick walls surrounding the yard, but it was open. It was time to go, but ZaXo didn't feel right, just giving in to what the

kidnapper wanted. He decided that he was going to sneak in, and try to save Chiyo. But this was another point against him with Tomo.

"I bet you are just going to go in and talk with your little buddies about what you are going to do with Chiyo. You're just going to leave us all out here, and then set a trap on us too. Someone else needs to go in.", she said, clearly still angry with him.

"I don't care what you think, Tomo. I am going in whether you like it or not. I can't let anything happen to Chiyo!", he retorted, starting to get

angry himself.

Then a quiet voice behind him sounded. "I'll go with you." It was Sakaki.

"No Sakaki, I can't put you in danger like that."

"I'm going anyway ZaXo. I care about Chiyo too.", she explained.

"Yeah, ZaXo. She is going too, and you can't stop her.", Tomo shouted.

"Alright, but be careful Sakaki. All of you, wait here and be ready to run.", ZaXo said.

**Chapter 22**

ZaXo and Sakaki slowly approached the house. But instead of going to the front door, they crept low, up to a window at the side of the house.

ZaXo peeked inside, and saw nobody. There were stairs leading down, a hallway leading away from them, and a kitchen. But the house was too small to have anything else. It was more like half of a cabin, ZaXo thought to himself. On the table in the kitchen were some bats and other melee type weapons. He figured that Chiyo was probably downstairs, but most likely, so was the kidnapper. And judging by the amount of weapons, there were probably multiple people down there.

ZaXo slowly opened the window just enought to crawl through. The floor was wood, so he had to be careful not to make noise on it, but he still had to be quick. Being caught halfway through the window would not be a good thing. After he got in safely, he tiptoed over to grab a

weapon for him, and a weapon for Sakaki. By the time he got back over to her, she was through the window. They krept to the edge of the stairs.

"Ok, Sakaki. Chiyo is probably down here, so we need to get her. But most likely there are others downstairs. Hopefully, these weapons

upstairs are the only ones they have. Let's go.", wispered ZaXo as quietly as possible. She nodded and they began to go down the stairs. Since they were also made of wood, this proved quite difficult to do silently. But they managed.

When he was at the right section of stairs, ZaXo layed down and tried to peak down the stairs, under the ceiling of the basement. Nobody was in the room. It was all cement, and about as big as half of the

classroom at school. There was a single light in the middle of the room, over a table with a chair next to it, both wooden. It was powerful enough to light everything as if he was in the living room of a normal house... everything except for one corner, that was pitch black. But he could just make out a little cave type thing in the back wall, with bars on it, half gone because of the lack of light in the corner. He saw something moving and wimpering over in that cage structure. He got up quickly and looked at Sakaki.

"It's Chiyo. She is in a cage on the far wall. Let's go.", said ZaXo quietly, barely holding in his relief.

They snuck down the remaining stairs, set the bats down, and ran over to the cage. "Chiyo? Chiyo are you there?", asked Sakaki, staring

into the black, hoping that she could catch a glimpse of what was moving.

"M-Miss Sakaki? Is that you?", said a voice from inside the cage.

"Yes, Chiyo, come closer into the light. Are you ok?"

"Oh, Miss Sakaki! Thank you so much for rescuing me. I thought I was gone for sure. I have been so scared.", cried Chiyo. Then she noticed ZaXo next to Sakaki. "Oh, and ZaXo, I am SO glad to see you!" I knew you would come for me. I just knew it!"

Chiyo was covered in dirt, and her clothes were slightly ripped. It looked like they just threw her in here, and they clearly didn't clean where they decided to keep her. She was shaking, and tears were running down her cheeks.

"Ok, Chiyo, we're going to get you out of here. Do you know where the key to this cage is?", asked ZaXo, but he was about to find out without her answer.

There was a creaking on the stairs. Someone was coming down them! The feet appeared at the top of the ceiling. "Chiyo get back, and

Sakaki, lets get into the shadow!", said ZaXo as quietly as he could. But he wasn't quiet enough.

"Who's there?", a voice called from the body coming down into the room slowly. The man got down the stairs and turned to survey the room. He didn't notice the bats nestled by the stairs though, which was lucky, ZaXo thought. The man was balding, but what hair he did have was in a

combover, and was all a silverish grey. He looked like he was at least fifty years old, and was fairly thin, and very tall. He was dressed in black clothes, with black dress shoes on. "Who is down here? If you don't come out now, I'll end your precious friend Chiyo-Chan's life!"

ZaXo was not going to take that chance, but he didn't want Sakaki to be in danger either. He signaled for her to stay put, and walked out of the shadow. "What do you want with Chiyo, you BASTARD! What do you want with any of us?", ZaXo said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, why should I tell you that? You didn't do as I asked, now did you. If you don't keep your end of the bargain, why should I?", the man replied.

"BARGAIN? What bargain. We had no choice in the matter. So if I have to play your sick games, I'm NOT playing by your stupid rules."

"Ahh, so you must be trying to become the so called 'hero' of this story. Too bad you won't live to earn that title!", announced the man. Then he lunged at ZaXo.

ZaXo dodged him, and kicked him in the back. The man fell over, and dropped a key, and a good sized knife. ZaXo grabbed the key, but the kidnapper got the knife before ZaXo could do anything. He threw the key to Sakaki, and yelled for her to unlock the cage and run. Then

before the man could react to the shock of another person bieng in the room, ZaXo tackled him hard. Sakaki ran to the lock, and started

unlocking the cage, while ZaXo attempted to prevent the man from

attacking her or Chiyo. She got the cage unlocked and when Chiyo ran out, Sakaki picked her up.

**Ending One (Just for fun)**

"RUN SAKAKI!", ZaXo yelled, before losing his grip on the

man. Sakaki ran upstairs with Chiyo in her arms and ran outside, where the others were waiting. They surrounded the two, and hugged Chiyo. ZaXo meanwhile was thrown on his back by the kidnapper. The man swung the knife down at him in a stabbing motion, but ZaXo grabbed his hands stopping the knife, inches from his chest. The struggle to keep the knife from piercing ZaXo seemed to be even, but the man soon showed that he was much stronger. With an extra burst of strength, he won over ZaXo, and plunged the knife deep. As ZaXo screamed in agony, his shirt slowly became bloodsoaked where the knife had entered, right beside his heart.

The man pulled the knife out, and ZaXo screamed even louder. But as he was about to stab him again, ZaXo saw an opening. He lifted his knees and feet under the mans stomach, and launched him off. Now that the knife wound was open, blood was gushing out of the deep hole. He could feel that it went almost all the way through his body. But keeping his composure, he tried to stand up. Almost immediately the loss of blood, and searing pain caused him to stumble. The kidnapper who had hit his head on the cement floor was attempting to get up, but ZaXo kicked him in the face, and then the chest. Finally he stomped on his back, and the man gave out, hitting the floor one last time, right next to the cage in the wall Chiyo was in just seconds ago. The man was out cold, so ZaXo mustered up what little strength he had left to tie him to the bars of the cage with some rope laying on the floor. Who knows what he was going to use that for, ZaXo thought. Slowly, he began climbing the stairs, double vision setting in.

Back outside, all the girls were happy to see Chiyo safe. But Yomi was the only one to notice Sakaki looking back inside with fearful eyes.

"What's wrong Sakaki? Where's ZaXo?", she asked, ready for the worst.

"He is still inside. He was fighting the man who took Chiyo. I'm really worried. I want to go back inside and help him, but he told me to run, along with all of you."

Yomi hesitated before finally saying, "Well, I am sure he will be ok. He is a strong person."

This was the wrong thing to say. Just as they were about to turn and tell the others to run, Sakaki caught sight of ZaXo stumbling at the top of the stairs. He started walking towards the front door, but fell to his hands.

Sakaki gave a great gasp and ran up to him. He was trying to crawl on his hands and knees, his vision fading. He didn't even notice that she was next to him until she tried to pick him up and hoist his arm over her shoulder.

She and the others who had just turned to see what was happening all cried out at the at the sight of the blood covering the whole front of his shirt, and steadily dripping from the massive wound. Yomi stood frozen, but Kagura quickly helped hoist ZaXo outside. Once he was out she let go and said she would go get an ambulance. She sprinted away, and around the corner. Nobody had ever seen her run faster.

"Wh-what a day to not bring my cellphone.", Tomo wimpered.

"NOOO!", cried Chiyo, "ZaXo, you're hurt! Please don't die!"

Tears were now heavily streaming down her dirty face.

"It-, ugh, it's ok Ch-Chiyo.", said ZaXo. "Sakaki, let me g-go please. You all need to get, urgh, get out of here."

"No, I WON'T! I won't leave you here to die!", sobbed Sakaki.

"NO, you have to go N-NOW! There may be more people in the house! Just get to, hngh, safety!", ZaXo yelled. But then his voice dropped to a wisper so that only Sakaki could hear him. "I, I don't want Chiyo to see me... me... listen, just get out of here." His vision was almost completely gone, and he was very lightheaded. He felt himself slipping in and out of conciousness. "Go... n...o...w." ZaXo's breathing was getting heavier, but it was very staggered.

"Ok...", Sakaki wispered more to herself than anyone, trying to get the courage to leave him there. Then, just loud enough for him to hear her, she said softly, "I love you ZaXo. We all do." A tear dropped down his cheek. Not because of the pain, but because of Sakaki's words.

Sakaki got up and walked towards the others, not turning away from ZaXo. They all had tears in thier eyes as she said, "Let's go. ZaXo wants us to leave..."

Reluctantly they all started to walk away, all except for Chiyo. She began to run up to ZaXo, but was caught by Yomi, and dragged off with them.

"I'll take Chiyo home.", said Yomi quietly, as if all the happiness in her had gone forever.

"NOOOOO! I WANT TO GO SAVE ZAXO! WE HAVE TO!", Chiyo sobbed. But Yomi just continued to take her further away from where ZaXo still lay, barely concious.

They all went up the allyway that was straight across from the front of the house. They were just through it, when Sakaki stopped. "I can't just leave. I have to go back." Then Tomo, who had been silent the whole time finally spoke out. "No we can't. I don't want to see him die... We have to keep going."

"HE IS NOT GOING TO DIE!", Sakaki yelled fiercely. "I AM GOING BACK!" She turned and began to run back, but was caught by the arms by Osaka and Tomo.

"Yomi, you take Chiyo back home now, and try to calm her down. We will deal with Sakaki.", Tomo said, still holding Sakaki back.

"O-ok.", Yomi sobbed as she began to walk away, with Chiyo still

struggling to get away.

"I AM GOING BACK, AND I WILL CARRY HIM TO THE HOSPITAL IF I HAVE TO!", screamed Sakaki through endless tears.

Sakaki continued to try and pull away, the girls barely holding her back, when two more men walked up to the house. And out of the front door came the kidnapper. He said something to them, and they picked ZaXo up by the arms, all while sirens were getting louder in the distance.

They dragged him by the elbows back into the house, his legs

sliding on the ground. Sakaki saw his head lift up and look around before they closed the door behind them. She screamed out, broke free, and was sprinting down the alley as fast as she could. She was almost

halfway,when the ambulance and three police cars stopped in front of the house. Kagura jumped out of the back of the ambulance, and looked at where ZaXo was just a second ago. Sakaki heard her say, 'He was right there, but something must have happened.' The police ran and kicked the door in, guns raised, while the paramedics got things set up outside. They would have to wait for an ok before they were able to head in. Kagura glanced over and was suprised to see Sakaki running towards her, with Tomo and Osaka following further down the alley. She stopped Sakaki as she tried to run by.

"What happened? Where's ZaXo?", Kagura asked Sakaki urgently, but clearly confused.

"Two men showed up and took him back inside! I have to help him!"

"No, you can't. Let the police do it.", Kagura replied.

Sakaki finally gave up, and dropped to her knees crying. She rubbed her eyes, and looked up at the house. "This... This can't be

happening. It just can't be. I loved him! I LOVED HIM!", Sakaki said through the tears and heavy sobs.

"It's ok Sakaki. The cops are here. They will take care of everyone in there, and save ZaXo. Don't worry. Besides, I have to tell him that I'm sorry for not trusting him.", Tomo said, though she didn't sound like she believed anything she had just said.

"Yeah, ya don't need ta worry.", Osaka stated.

But that was the last they ever saw of ZaXo. When the police got downstairs, the men were gone, and ZaXo was on the floor. He had died right after his final look at the world, as he was bieng dragged into the house. A good friend was gone forever. The only solace that could be found for Sakaki was that he accomplished what he set out to do... saving Chiyo.

**Ending Two (Just for fun)**

"RUN SAKAKI!", ZaXo yelled, before losing his grip on the

man. Sakaki ran upstairs with Chiyo in her arms and ran outside, where the others were waiting. They surrounded the two, and hugged Chiyo. ZaXo meanwhile was thrown on his back by the kidnapper. The man swung the knife down at him in a stabbing motion, but ZaXo grabbed his hands stopping the knife, inches from his chest. The struggle to keep the knife from piercing ZaXo seemed to be even, but the man soon showed that he was much stronger. With an extra burst of strength, he won over ZaXo, and plunged the knife deep. As ZaXo screamed in agony, his shirt slowly became bloodsoaked where the knife had entered, right beside his heart.

The man pulled the knife out, and ZaXo screamed even louder. But as he was about to stab him again, ZaXo saw an opening. He lifted his knees and feet under the mans stomach, and launched him off. Now that the knife wound was open, blood was gushing out of the deep hole. He could feel that it went almost all the way through his body. But keeping his composure, he tried to stand up. Almost immediately the loss of blood, and searing pain caused him to stumble. The kidnapper who had hit his head on the cement floor was attempting to get up, but ZaXo kicked him in the face, and then the chest. Finally he stomped on his back, and the man gave out, hitting the floor one last time, right next to the cage in the wall Chiyo was in just seconds ago. The man was out cold, so ZaXo mustered up what little strength he had left to tie him to the bars of the cage with some rope laying on the floor. Who knows what he was going to use that for, ZaXo thought. Slowly, he began climbing the stairs, double vision setting in.

Back outside, all the girls were happy to see Chiyo safe. But Yomi was the only one to notice Sakaki looking back inside with fearful eyes.

"What's wrong Sakaki? Where's ZaXo?", she asked, ready for the worst.

"He is still inside. He was fighting the man who took Chiyo. I'm really worried. I want to go back inside and help him, but he told me to run, along with all of you."

Yomi hesitated before finally saying, "Well, I am sure he will be ok. He is a strong person."

"I'll call the police to help!", said Tomo, pulling out her phone.

Everyone started to run away, Tomo talking to an officer over her cellphone, but Sakaki gave one last fleeting look at the house, before she turned the corner around the brick wall fencing in the yard. At that

moment, Sakaki caught sight of ZaXo covered in blood, clambering out of the front door. She gave a great gasp, and ran back too him. ZaXo slammed the door behind himself, grabbed her hand, and started to run, even though he was in immense pain. The others were about a block away, when they noticed Sakaki missing, and turned around to go back.

"Sakaki we need to get out of here. We need to go fast.", ZaXo breathed, trying to stay concious.

"What happened? Is, is that your blood?", asked Sakaki nervously.

"Yes. No time to explain that. There were two others upstairs that saw me. They came in through the back door, and went to grab weapons from the kitchen. They are bound to come after us. We need to move fa-"

Just as he was about to finish, he heard the two men bash the door down. "FASTER!", ZaXo yelled, using everything he could muster to keep running. He looked back to see the men turning the corner around the wall, and gaining fast. In front of ZaXo, the others were running back

towards them. He signaled for them to turn around, but just then Sakaki fell over. He stopped to help her up, but before he could, one of the men hit him over the head with the plastic pipe he had grabbed from the kitchen. ZaXo fell to the ground, stars sparkling in his head. He heard

Sakaki scream, but as he tried to get up, he passed out.

"I feel really relaxed right now. This is nice.", ZaXo thought. He

began to slowly open his eyes and sit up. But the searing pain in his chest that followed prevented him from going anywhere.

"HE'S AWAKE YOU GUYS!", ZaXo heard someone next to him yell. He heard others gasp, and looked around. Everything was too bright and blurry to see much, but that voice was unmistakenly Tomo's. He rubbed his eyes, and things became clear enough for him to see. He was in what looked like a room at the hospital, and all his friends were there... all

except Sakaki. He then remembered her screaming right before he passed out. Though it hurt him, he sat bolt upright.

"Where is Sakaki?", he asked hurriedly.

All the talk of him being ok stopped immediately at this question. Tomo's weak smile turned into tears very quickly, along with most of the others. "What is it? Where is she?", ZaXo asked urgently.

It took a couple seconds, but finally someone spoke up. It was Yomi.

"She... she is gone."

"You mean she is missing? Please mean that she's missing. If she is, we can still find her. Don't say she's dead. Please, no.", ZaXo pleaded with Yomi, though he looked at them all.

They all looked down, and Kagura let out a big sob. "NO! She can't be... gone. What happened?", asked ZaXo, tears beginning to plague him too.

More time went by before Yomi finally spoke up again. "Well, you know that when she fell, the first guy knocked you out. Then the other... he picked her up. They carried her back to the house, one of them saying to forget about the rest of us. We were going to go after them, but the

police showed up, and stopped us. They said it was too dangerous, and we should let them take care of it. When they checked the house... when they checked it..." Her voice trailed off and she put her face in her hands." "..No...NO...NOOOO! WHY SAKAKI? WHY HER? WHY NOT ME?", ZaXo yelled. He was so loud that the doctors came rushing in.

"What's wrong? Is he awake? Oh, I see you are doing fine.", one of the doctors said, before realizing that everyone was in tears. "Oh... so you found out about your friend. Well, I will come back in a while to check up on how you are doing. We'll leave you alone.", he said before walking out of the door, and closing it behind him.

"This... This can't be happening. It just can't be. I loved her! I LOVED HER!", ZaXo screamed at the top of his lungs. He didn't care that it made his chest sear with pain. He didn't care that the doctors and everyone else probably thought he was crazy for yelling so loud. He just didn't care

anymore. He loved Sakaki, and never even got to tell her. Nothing meant anything to him now. He just wanted to be with her again. But for the rest of his life, he would have to live with the burden of letting her go. Though her death wasn't actually his fault, he would forevermore believe it to be so...

**Ending Three (The actual ending)**

"RUN SAKAKI!", ZaXo yelled, before losing his grip on the

man. Sakaki ran upstairs with Chiyo in her arms and ran outside, where the others were waiting. They surrounded the two, and hugged Chiyo. ZaXo meanwhile was thrown on his back by the kidnapper. The man swung the knife down at him in a stabbing motion, but ZaXo grabbed his hands stopping the knife, inches from his chest. The struggle to keep the knife from piercing ZaXo seemed to be even, but the man soon showed that he was much stronger. With an extra burst of strength, he won over ZaXo, and plunged the knife deep. As ZaXo screamed in agony, his shirt slowly became bloodsoaked where the knife had entered, right beside his heart.

The man pulled the knife out, and ZaXo screamed even louder. But as he was about to stab him again, ZaXo saw an opening. He lifted his knees and feet under the mans stomach, and launched him off. Now that the knife wound was open, blood was gushing out of the deep hole. He could feel that it went almost all the way through his body. But keeping his mental composure, he tried to stand up. Almost immediately the loss of blood, and searing pain caused him to stumble. The kidnapper who had hit his head on the cement floor was attempting to get up, but ZaXo kicked him in the face, and then the chest. Finally he stomped on his back, and the man gave out, hitting the floor one last time, right next to the cage in the wall Chiyo was in just seconds ago. The man was out cold, so ZaXo mustered up what little strength he had left to tie him to the bars of the cage with some rope laying on the floor. Who knows what he was going to use that for, ZaXo thought. Slowly, he began climbing the stairs, double vision setting in.

Back outside, all the girls were happy to see Chiyo safe. But Yomi was the only one to notice Sakaki looking back inside with fearful eyes.

"What's wrong Sakaki? Where's ZaXo?", she asked, ready for the worst.

"He is still inside. He was fighting the man who took Chiyo. I'm really worried. I want to go back inside and help him, but he told me to run, along with all of you."

Yomi hesitated before finally saying, "Well, I am sure he will be ok. He is a strong person."

"I'll call the police to help!", said Tomo, pulling out her phone.

Everyone started to run away, Tomo talking to an officer over her cellphone, but Sakaki gave one last fleeting look at the house, before she turned the corner around the brick wall fencing in the yard. At that

moment, Sakaki caught sight of ZaXo covered in blood, clambering out of the front door. She gave a great gasp, and ran back too him. ZaXo slammed the door behind himself, grabbed her hand, and started to run, even though he was in immense pain. The others were about a block away when they noticed Sakaki missing, and turned around to go back.

"Sakaki we need to get out of here. We need to go fast.", ZaXo breathed, trying to stay concious.

"What happened? Is, is that your blood?", asked Sakaki nervously.

"Yes. No time to explain that. There were two others upstairs that saw me. They came in through the back door, and went to grab weapons from the kitchen. They are bound to come after us. We need to move fa-"

Just as he was about to finish, he heard the two men bash the door down. "FASTER!", ZaXo yelled, using everything he could muster to keep running. He looked back to see the men turning the corner around the wall, and gaining fast. In front of ZaXo, the others were running back

towards them. He signaled for them to turn around, but just then Sakaki fell over. He stopped to help her up, but before he could, one of the men hit him over the head with the plastic pipe he had grabbed from the kitchen. ZaXo fell to the ground, stars sparkling in his head. He heard

Sakaki scream, but as he tried to get up, he passed out.

"I feel really relaxed right now. This is nice.", ZaXo thought. He

began to slowly open his eyes and sit up. But the searing pain in his chest that followed prevented him from going anywhere.

"HE'S AWAKE YOU GUYS!", ZaXo heard someone next to him yell. He heard others gasp, and looked around. Everything was too bright and blurry to see much, but that voice was unmistakenly Tomo's. He rubbed his eyes, and things became clear enough for him to see. He was in what looked like a room at the hospital, and all his friends were there... all

except Sakaki. He then remembered her screaming right before he passed out. Though it hurt him, he sat bolt upright.

"Where is Sakaki?", he asked hurriedly. ZaXo pretended he was prepared for the worst, though he knew he wasn't.

"Oh, she we-", started Osaka, but she was interrupted when the door to the room opened, and in walked Sakaki, carrying a tray of food.

"Oh.", Sakaki said, noticing ZaXo was awake, and beginning to blush. The others resumed talking with one another like they were a minute ago. "I just got everyone food. If I would have known you were going to wake while I was gone, I would have gotten you some."

"It's ok Sakaki. I'm not hungry. I'm just glad you're ok."

"I'm glad you're ok too. You've been asleep for about six hours.", she said, sitting next to him on the edge of the hospital bed.

"What happened after I was knocked out?" ZaXo asked, curiously.

"Well, when I fell, the other man ran up to me and tried to take me back towards the house. But Tomo saved me by throwing a rock. It hit him in the head, and he let go in pain. Right then, the police arrived and arrested the two, along with the leader that was still downstairs. Everything is fine now.", Sakaki finished.

Just then, Chiyo walked up and hugged ZaXo. He yelped in pain, and she quickly jumped away and apologized, clearly embarrased. "No don't worry, Chiyo. I can deal with the pain. I am just glad you're safe. Now give me another hug.", ZaXo said warmly.

"Oh, thank you so much Mr. ZaXo! I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you. If it weren't for you, I would have been...", Chiyo stopped, and swallowed hard.

"I understand, and you're welcome, but I didn't do all the work. Everyone else helped too."

"Yes, they did. Thank you too Miss Sakaki.", Chiyo said, running over and giving her a big hug too.

"I am sorry for not trusting you ZaXo.", said someone in his ear. It was Tomo.

"No worries Tomo. I understand why you didn't want to trust me. I'm glad that I earned it though.", stated ZaXo, giving her a big smile.

"Everyone is safe, and those evil people are gone forever", ZaXo thought to himself. "It feels good to know that nothing happened to

anyone. I will make sure that nothing EVER happens to anyone here like that again." ZaXo smiled, and looked out of the window at the night sky. He then layed back down and enjoyed the company of his best friends for the rest of the night.

**Azumanga Daioh DX: ZaXo's Story**

What if the story of Azumanga Daioh was different?

What if there was an extra person in the group of girls?

This is an alternate version of Azumanga written as if there was a boy in the mix... a boy named ZaXo Ken'Ichi. Even though this is not his real last name (he was born outside of Japan), he adopted it as to fit in a little better. Here is his story.

**Chapter 22**

Three days had passed since the horrible incident with Chiyo. ZaXo had just gotten out of the hospital. It was almost dusk, and he decided that he wanted to walk home, instead of his parents giving him a ride, like they had planned on doing. He just wanted to be alone, and reflect on everything that happened. But at the same time, he wanted to be with his friends, acting like nothing had ever gone wrong. He just walked along the sidewalk thinking. He decided to take the long way through the park. After about five minutes, the sky began to glow with a slight

yellow. ZaXo was about halfway through, when he saw someone with long black hair leaning on the edge of the brick bridge over the stream. She was just watching the sky, petting a cat. Then he realized that it was Sakaki, and ran to go speak to her. She had visited him everyday in the hospital. She brought him the paper, which he was on front page in, along with his friends, and she also gave him his homework. His heart filled with elation as he approached, watching her hair wave in the gentle breeze.

"H-hey Sakaki. What are you doing out here?", he asked quietly before she realized he was there. She jumped slightly at his voice.

"Oh, ZaXo, you startled me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. So what's up?", he inquired gently,

trying not to sound like he was prying, because indeed he wasn't.

"I'm just thinking. What happened was a lot to take in, and I still feel like it was just a dream.", she replied.

"Heh, I would too, if it wasn't for this very real injury.", ZaXo joked,

pointing at the body wrap on his chest.

"How is that? Are you feeling better? D-does it really hurt as much... as much as it looks like it does?", Sakaki stuttered, as if she was stumbling on a rough subject.

"Nah. I mean, yeah it hurts a ton, but compared to if it was an inch

lower... being hurt bad is better than being dead, I say.", he said, and they

began to laugh.

"Yeah, i'm really glad you're ok too. I don't know what I, uh, I mean, WE all would have done if you had...", started Sakaki, sounding really

nervous, and like she was trying to get up some courage to say something personal. "ZaXo... promise me that you won't die. We all... I care too much. Promise me you'll live forever."

"Sakaki, you know I can't do that. But I can promise that I'll live inside your memories forever. As long someone cares and remembers you, you can never really die.", stated ZaXo wisely.

"Yeah, your right. Have you seen the newspapers today?", Sakaki asked, changing subjects.

"No, I haven't, why?"

"Well," she started, "it says that you are getting all kinds of mail at the school from people telling you how much they look up to you. It's people from Japan, and America. You have been on the news channels in both countries.", she said, looking happy for him. Though ZaXo didn't like this news much. "What's wrong ZaXo, you should be happy."

"I am I guess. But it's just not fair. You guys did just as much as I did. It's not like I went in alone, and did everything singlehandedly. Actually, I wouldn't have been able to save her myself. You're the one who got her out of there. That's what I thought was odd about the paper yesterday too.", ZaXo told her.

"Actually... the press and police questioned me first. I told them that you did it. And everyone else said the same. We all really thought you

deserved it."

ZaXo's face grew shocked at what he had just heard. "You guys, you lied and said I did it all? But why? I didn't do it all. I don't want to be praised for something that I didn't do.", he said. Sakaki looked hurt when he said this.

"Well, I, I, um...", she tried to explain, tearing up. "We just, wanted you to have it all. Without you we couldn't have done anything. You were the glue because you led us all. You acted brave, and I thought you would be happy to get a little extra... extra that you deserve.", she said in an

appologetic tone.

"I do I guess, but that doesn't mean I don't feel bad for taking that from you. I felt like we were a team. I wasn't trying to lead, I just knew we had to get it done fast. Oh well. You guys said what you said, and your hearts were in the right place. Just next time, take the glory you deserve, because you yourself at least deserve half of it, if not more.", ZaXo finished, trying to make Sakaki feel better. They continued to talk, though the topic never went back to who deserved what. The sun slowly set in front of them, casting a beautiful glow on everything.

Sakaki turned to ZaXo, who was petting Maya, and she smiled. Something about that smile was just perfect. The glow, the smile, her beauty, and overall, the exact situation at that moment was the most

priceless scene he had ever seen. He wished he could just bottle it up and keep it forever. Had he been holding a camera, he would have taken a thousand pictures of it. Little did he know, she was thinking the same thing as he smiled at her, at that exact moment. They walked to Chiyo's house, where Sakaki was staying and she opened the gates.

When she began to walk in, dropping Maya, who ran into the yard, Chiyo came out of the front door. But she wasn't the only one. Chiyo's

parents also came out of the house. Come to think of it, ZaXo realized he had never seen Chiyo's parents. They were never really around when they were all at the house. They both came up and hugged ZaXo ubruptly. He became showered in thanks for saving Chiyo. Both of them had tears in thier eyes. But ZaXo had to tell them. If there were two

people in the world that HAD to know what really

happened, it was them. They deserved that.

So ZaXo began to talk about what had really went on. He told them that without Sakaki, Chiyo would not be here with them, and that all he

managed to do was get himself stabbed. It was hard for him to do.

Everytime he looked at Sakaki, she looked shattered. 'Maybe this was a mistake.', he thought. 'What if she had made me look like even more of a hero to them than to everyone else? How would they react to her lying about something like that, causing them to put so much false thanks into someone who didn't deserve it... me.', he said to himself. Would they think ZaXo told Sakaki to say that, and then assume he was a glory

hogging freak? But it was too late. He had to tell them everything.

**Chapter 23**

When ZaXo finished, he prepared for the worst. But it never came. Instead they thanked him for telling the truth, and commended him for giving the deserved glory to the others. This made him feel better about saying what he had. But then he glanced at Sakaki, and that changed completely. She was busy getting praise for being the one who really saved Chiyo. But she looked like she was torn in two, betrayed in the worst possible way. ZaXo didn't understand it. Sakaki soaked in all that they had to say to her, and waited until they left to break down.

"What's wrong Miss Sakaki?", Chiyo said, shocked at her behavior.

"Nothing. I don't really want to talk about it. Just leave me alone...",

Sakaki replied monotonously, and then she proceeded to run down the street, and back into the park.

"C'mon Chiyo, we have to follow her and fix this.", ZaXo told her.

"Wha-what's going on? I don't understand why she is so sad.", replied Chiyo.

"Neither do I really. I mean, I know WHAT she is sad about, but I don't know why. Let's go find out.", he said, and he grabbed her hand and they ran into the park. They looked and looked but couldn't find Sakaki

anywhere. They stopped on the path, and looked around. "Sakaki! Hey Sakaki, I really need to talk to you! Please come back!", ZaXo yelled out, but he got no response.

"Do you think she may have gotten hurt ZaXo?", Chiyo asked, starting to get very worried.

"I don't think so. I think she just really wants to be alone. But I have to talk to her now. If we wait, she could overthink this, and start to hate me. I really don't want that. C'mon, let's look over here.", ZaXo offered,

pointing to the left side of the path, which was a fully forrested area.

"Actually, i'm gonna go to the other side.", stated Chiyo before walking the opposite way into the trees on the other side.

"O-ok, just be careful. If anything happens, scream or something. I don't like the idea of you bieng alone. I really don't.", he confessed.

"Oh, don't worry ZaXo, it's a public park, so nothing will happen to me.", Chiyo said, putting on her innocent smile. It almost seemed like the

recent incident didn't make any new fears for her. So ZaXo decided to ask about it.

"Chiyo, aren't you scared that something else may happen to you? I know that I would be scared if something like that happened to me."

"No, I feel like that was the only time something like that will ever

happen. There's no use in basing my life on that fear. It's a slim chance that it'll ever happen again.", she smiled. There was no fear showing in her face, so ZaXo figured she was telling the truth, and decided not to push it futher.

"Well, don't go too far, because I'll worry.", he told her smiling back. He began to walk his way and she hers. ZaXo looked and looked, but couldn't find Sakaki at all. 'She must have ran all the way through the park', he thought to himself. So he decided to head back to the path, and find Chiyo. He knew she should be getting home anyway, as it was now almost completely dark. When he arrived back at the path, his most

recent and worst fear hit him in the face. As he looked around to see if Chiyo was back yet, he heard a scream. Immediatly he knew it was her, and he ran into the trees towards the voice.

Panic and fear spread through him. Everything had just been fixed fine, but he had to be an idiot and screw it all up by leaving her alone. He should have known better, and now it may just cause his worst nightmare to come true. ZaXo stopped to see if he could hear anything. There was what sounded like staggered movement not far ahead. He got out of the trees onto the path so that he could be quieter. But then he noticed the noise was actually coming from on the path, just around the bend of trees in front of him. He krept up slowly, and tried to glance around the bend to see what it was.

As he did this, someone grabbed him from behind. The arms swung around him and hit him hard in the chest. ZaXo gasped in pain from his wound, fearing the worst. The attacker brought him towards where the noises had come from. There stood a big man, all in black, and another person he recognized immediately. The silver haired kidnapper stood ten feet in front of ZaXo, holding Chiyo, whose mouth had been taped shut. Anger coursed through ZaXo, but it was nothing to what he was about to feel. Next to them, in the arms of the man in black, was Sakaki. Her head was hanging lifeless, as though she was dead. ZaXo's hurt and anger soared through the roof, so much that it caused his wound immense pain.

He couldn't tell if she was really dead, or if she had been knocked out. It was too dark to see if she was breathing.

**Chapter 24**

"NOOO, YOU FREAK! What are you doing here? How did you escape the police, and what did you do to Sakaki?", ZaXo yelled, unable to curb his anger.

"Ha ha ha. Why does it matter to you? You are dead soon anyway, but first you must do something for me.", the kidnapper said with a malicious grin, as he pointed at Sakaki. "She is alive, and will continue to be so for the time being. But only if you do exactly as I say.", he finished as his eyes narrowed.

"What the hell do you want from me? Spit it out!", ZaXo shouted, though he was relieved to hear that Sakaki was alive.

"Well, you see, you ruined my original plan. I applaud you for that.

However, I will not give up until I get what I want. I need you to go get your other friends. Get them and bring them here. But tell them nothing, or Chiyo and Sakaki are as good as gone. I will have my friend here, the one who is restraining you, on guard. He will be closely following you. The second he hears you saying anything about what I am doing, these two are over with.", the kidnapper replied.

"What do you want them for? Why is it so important to you?", ZaXo asked.

"Well, it won't hurt to tell you now that you know my terms. You see, I looked up the biggest money makers in the area, and your parents, Miss Sakaki's parents, and Chiyo's parents are all big business leaders. They have a lot of money. I WANT THAT MONEY!"

"What? Then why do you need the others. All you need is to hold us for ransom! Leave them out of this!"

"Oh, no my dear boy.", the man explained. "See now, if I get them as well I get double. How? Well, you are all best friends right? And your families know that. If the parents of your other friends can't pay up, I know the parents of you three can, heh heh heh."

"You... you are getting them involved for this... I will make you pay. I'm not going to just give them all to you. Screw off!", ZaXo said through clenched teeth.

"Ok, have it your way.", said the old man, and he pulled out a knife. It was the same knife from before. He held it to Chiyo's neck, and she began to tear up, attempting to struggle away. ZaXo couldn't stand to see this.

"OK, ok, I'll do it, but please don't hurt them. Just let me ask one more thing.", ZaXo pleaded.

"Alright, but hurry up, my patients is wearing thin, boy!", he yelled in

reply.

"How did you escape?", ZaXo asked. Immediately the mans eyes lit up.

"Ahh, that is a good question. You see, I actually had two other lackies at the house. They came in shortly after the others left. When they saw me downstairs unconcious, they inacted my escape. Hearing the

sirens they switched me with someone else. One of the two was hired for the purpose of getting me out of spots like this. He looks almost identical to me. Most wouldn't want to go to jail for a failed plan. However, he knew that if I was to go free, I could make another plot, get the money, and then break him out. Yes, I am that powerful, so now, get going, and don't you DARE underestimate me!", the man finished, done with

talking.

The man who was holding ZaXo let go, and followed him out to the end of the park... or so ZaXo thought. When he looked back, the man was gone, but ZaXo wasn't stupid enough to think for a second that he wasn't still being followed. ZaXo's fear started to rise. How was he going to get out of this? And more importantly, how was he going to get his friends out of this? He decided that for now, all he could do is what he was told to do. ZaXo one by one got his friends. Though it was late, they were happy to see him out of the hospital. When he told them that Sakaki, Chiyo and him had to talk to them about something important, they followed.

"Why didn't they just come with you to talk to us ZaXo?", asked Yomi while they were heading back to the park.

"Um, they just really felt like it would be easier to do in the park.", he lied, sounding immensly nervous.

"What do you mean by easier? What's this all about?", she said back.

"Uh, you'll see when we get there.", he said shakily. He couldn't grasp why he was selling out his friends. What if they decided to kill everyone anyway. But it was too late. If he did anything wrong, Chiyo and Sakaki were automatically going to die. It was unlikely that they would all find a way to escape when they got there. But there was no way that he could bring himself to sacrifice the other two for his life, and Tomo, Yomi,

Osaka, and Kagura. He would feel no different if any of them were in place of Chiyo and Sakaki, so this was the only way to go.

When they arrived at the park entrance, ZaXo's nerves were at their peak. It practically broke him inside to hear the others joking and

laughing behind him, when he was tricking them into what possibly could be their demise. "O-ok, c-c'mon.", ZaXo stuttered.

"ZaXo, what's wrong? Are you ok?", Kagura asked, looking worried.

"I-i'm just a little n-nervous..."

"The news is that juicy, eh?", said Tomo. ZaXo felt so numb at the  
moment that he ignored her comment, and began to walk into the park. Everything was like a nightmare he wished he could wake from. All around him, time was going so slow. Though his destination was only five minutes away, it felt like it took years to get there, his mind ironically racing at the speed of light.

**Chapter 25**

They reached to the turn around the trees. Right around the corner was what ZaXo couldn't bare to face, but he had to. He didn't even feel like he was moving himself as they rounded the trees. None of the others were paying attention, so Tomo bumped into ZaXo as he stopped... once again, ten feet in front of him was the person he hated more than he could describe. And also in front of him were two people whos lives he cared for far more than his own.

The girls looked at ZaXo to see what the holdup was, and then

noticed what he was staring at, face as pale as a sheet of paper. "Oh no! Someone has Chiyo!", yelled Tomo.

"And that's Sakaki.", Osaka added.

"Ahh, allow me to introduce myself. I am the one who took your dear friend Chiyo not a few days ago. I do hope you remember that.", the

kidnapper said, shoving the fact in their faces.

"What how did you escape?", asked Tomo.

"I am tired of explaining that.", he sighed. "I already told your friend ZaXo all about it, last time he was here with us. I am sure that he will fill you in." All the girls looked at ZaXo in shock.

"Last time he was here? What are you talking about?", asked Yomi,

frightened.

"Oh, you see, I told ZaXo about my escape, so that in return he would bring you here... straight to me. Gya ha ha! GYA HA HA HA HA HA!", the man laughed insanely.

The looks of shock on the faces of his friends quickly turned to

hatred and disgust. "YOU BETRAYED US? WE TRUSTED YOU AND YOU SOLD US OUT? I WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU FROM THE

BEGINNING!", screamed Tomo. She turned to run, but three of the old mans minions came out onto the path, along with an extra guy on the

opposite side, blocking any exit.

"H-how could you ZaXo?", Yomi asked as if he had just killed her best friend. Of course, as far as she could see, he just had... all five of them.

"I-I didn't mean it that way. He was going to hurt Sakaki and Chiyo if I didn't. I had no way out. I'm s-sorry. You don't know how bad I feel."

"I hope you feel worse than anyone can imagine. I can't believe that you would do this.", she replied. Her tone wasn't mean, but rather full of

immense dissapointment and feelings of betrayal. This made ZaXo want to just dissapear. How could he do this to them? 'How could I sell

everyone out.', he thought. Taking the chance of saving Sakaki and Chiyo along with the others was looking like a completely bad idea now.

Nobody saw any way out.

"Now that we have that out of the way, I will explain why you are all here.", said the old man, smiling. He explained what he had for ZaXo, and then told them that they were suppose to call there parents one by one, and tell them what was going on. Then they were suppose to explain to their family how they could get their kids safely back. ZaXo doubted they would all come safely back even if everything went according to the mans plan. He was too evil and insane to just let them go. Most likely they would all be killed anyway.

The minions escorted everyone to the bridge so that a police ambush from the forrested parts of the park was impossible. After Tomo and

Yomi called their parents using the mans phone, it was Osaka's turn. As she was calling home Sakaki began to wake up. The lacky set her down, and when she awoke fully, he told her to stand up, and pushed her into the middle of the circle with the rest. Same went for Chiyo, who took the tape off of her mouth, and wrapped herself around ZaXo, scared to death.

"Listen Chiyo. I'm sorry for all of this. It's my fault for letting you go off alone. I know nobody here will forgive me, but if I can, I will find you a way out of here.", ZaXo wispered.

"I forgive you. It's not your fault that these people are pure evil.", said Chiyo, shaking violently with fear.

"I forgive you too.", said Sakaki. "Not for this, because you did nothing wrong here. I forgive you for what happened earlier. I was bieng stupid, and didn't realize that you gave me credit because you cared about me. I was just really confused. A lot is going on. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it Sakaki. I just wish I could get us out of here.", ZaXo started, but he was interrupted by Kagura, who was now in tears, giving Sakaki the phone. Sakaki called, and then gave the phone to Chiyo, and she called home too. When she was done, she handed it to the last

person... ZaXo.

As he dialed his number slowly, he got an idea. He could get

everyone out of here, if he caused a diversion with Tomo's phone.

He just prayed that she had it with her. "Tomo... Tomo, do you have your phone with you?", he wispered, pretending to still be dialing on the phone in his hand.

"Why, I'm not giving it to scum like you.", she hissed back.

"Please just trust me. I am going to try to get us out of here. Please...", he pleaded.

"Fine, it's not like the phone will matter soon anyway.", she said,

throwing it at him. Quickly, he put the number of the kidnappers phone, into Tomo's, and hid it. He called his parents, and did what he was

suppose to do with the old mans phone, but didn't hand it back to the him. Luckily he wasn't paying attention, and didn't realize that he hadn't gotten it back yet. To be safe, ZaXo waited a couple of minutes before

pulling out Tomo's phone again. ZaXo set up the phone to call everyone as unlisted. Slowly, he started to scroll down to the other phones number. When he had it ready, he turned to Chiyo.

"Chiyo. I need you to pass this message on to everyone, ok?", he

wispered.

"Okay, I will.", she wispered back.

"I am going to call his phone with Tomo's. I hope that he tells me to get up and give it to him. If and when that happens, I need you run behind Sakaki. Tell her and everyone else to attack the nearest guard, who should be distracted with me, and then all of you run into the trees. Don't stop for anything. If you need help, have Sakaki carry you. You got it? DON'T come back for me. If I get out, I get out.", he finished. She agreed and started wispering the plan to everyone. The guards were a little

distracted and didn't notice.

ZaXo didn't think this was a very good plan, but knew it was better than doing nothing. When Chiyo told him that everyone understood, he got ready. "ZaXo, be careful. I want to be able to see you tommorow.",

Sakaki told him.

"Don't worry about me, focus on yourself and Chiyo. I just want you all to be ALIVE tommorow.", he replied.

**Chapter 26**

ZaXo pressed the call button on Tomo's phone, and hid it as quickly as he could. The other phone began to ring "Huh, what was that?",

pondered the old man, looking at ZaXo.

"Oh, it's your phone. I was just about to give it back, and now someone is calling you. It says, uh, unlisted.", ZaXo said, trying to act as normal as possible.

"Well then. Bring it here, you idiot.", replied the kidnapper.

ZaXo got up, and walked over to the man. All of the girls were ready to go. Right as ZaXo handed the man the phone, he pushed as hard as he could. The man was at the edge of the bridge, and fell over the brick railing into the water ten feet below. It was deep enough that he went underwater, but he surfaced, just fine a couple of seconds later. But by that time, everything was underway. The guards had looked away from

everyone in shock, to see if their leader was alive. Then they turned to ZaXo, who jumped into the water as well.

In all the craziness, the girls took the opening, and ran up to the three guards, back towards the entrance they came from. Yomi, and

Sakaki each pushed the ones in front of them down before they could

react. Kagura and Tomo kicked and punched the single guard they had together, and Osaka gave hers a good strong headbutt. Then they all ran as fast as possible into the trees. Everything with them was good. It took the guards a couple of seconds to get up, and start chasing them. Just enough time to get a worthy lead. The girls only had to get to the outside of the park ,where most likely a crowd of police were just showing up. They even thought up themselves to spread out a bit, making them

harder to catch.

ZaXo on the other hand had to go much longer of a distance. And on his tail were the old man in the water, and the two other guards from that side of the circle. ZaXo was swimming as fast as he could, but he knew sooner or later he would have to get out of the water. The stream was much to long to swim all the way along without getting too tired.

ZaXo knew this, and decided his best bet was to go to the side the girls had, though the two guards on land had seperated to one on each side of the stream.

ZaXo swam over and got onto the land before the lacky could get over there. When he did, ZaXo was ready. He ran as fast as he could,

soaking wet, and hurt from the other day. He put all he could into a giant tackle and tossed the guy into the side of the bridge. The guard hit his head and was knocked out immediatly. The guard on the other side jumped in the water so that he could get to ZaXo. ZaXo grabbed a broken branch near him, and swung it as this guard tried to get out of the water. He hit him square in the head, and he went down. All that was left was the old man, who had just gotten onto the land as well. ZaXo knew he had to get the old man now, or he could escape again. The man picked up his own branch and started swinging it madly towards ZaXo. There was no way that he could get close enough to try anything.

Backing up so as to not get hit, ZaXo suddenly saw an opening and took it. He threw his branch as hard as he could, and it hit the old man across the upper arm, followed by the sickening crunch of a breaking bone. The man yelled in pain, and dropped the branch he had, which was in that arm. ZaXo did the same thing he did for the first guard, and tackled the old man against the tree behind him. He didn't hit his head, but ZaXo now had the upper hand. He struck the kidnapper in the face three times before the man was out.

ZaXo decided it was best to wait for help so that he could be sure that nobody got away. Five minutes later, a group of five SWAT type

officers came down the path, wielding automatic guns. They caught sight of ZaXo and the three people still unconcious. They handcuffed the three, and escorted them and ZaXo back to the entrance of the park. When he arrived, he was met with a giant group hug from all of his friends. He was so happy they were all safe. Tomo then pulled him aside. "I'm sorry about not trusting you again. I still don't like that you 'sold us out', but I understand why you did. I will always trust you from now on, I promise."

"Thanks. I am just glad it's over... I hope.", he said as everyone listened in. Just then an officer who had overheard him walked up.

"Yeah, you don't have to worry. We got all of the others as they ran out of the trees chasing your friends. We had just realized that the imposter we had in custody, was not actually the leader, when we got several calls from parents about what just happened. The imposter told us exactly how many people were in this little scheme, and we now have them all. You don't have to worry anymore. But we do have to do questioning. Sorry.", the officer finished.

By the time they had finished with the questioning, everyone was really tired. The sun was going to come up in an hour and a half. They had school as well, so they decided they would all just rest at Chiyo's house because it was closest. Everyone went to school the next day really tired, but also with a certain celebrity status. It was all over the news that there was a 'sequal' to what had happened earlier. ZaXo was just glad to blend in with the fame his friends were experiencing. He wasn't

portrayed as the only hero this time. And his friends modified the story so that ZaXo hadn't lead them to the old man. Luckily it worked because that part wasn't on the news.

ZaXo felt better knowing that everyone was once again safe,

trusting, and happy. Things were back to normal. He would always have a twinge of uncertainty to whether the imposter was truthful about who all was in on the scheme. 'Like Chiyo said though, there is no reason, or comfort in basing your life on your fear', he thought, as he fell asleep in class, like the rest of his friends.

* * *

"**Said ZaXo, said Sakaki, snorted Tomo, laughed Yomi..." Gah, I can't believe I used to think having it backward like that was normal! It's supposed to be 'ZaXo said'! Lol, anyway; on to talking about this chapter. If you read the whole thing, you realize that the idea is largely the same (though it originally took place right after they went to Okinawa, and Maya showed up in Tokyo, in the actual series), but nearly everything else is different. I think my favorite thing about it is that the 'old man' actually gets free and attacks again (that old man ended up being Kouki Takeshi). That was just a pathetic attempt at continuing it (I was desperate to write something else that was emotionally strong) Truthfully, there are a few small ideas in this version that I would have loved to keep/update, but it just wasn't possible. The surrounding context wouldn't have held them up without it being silly. But they were mainly just little details and such. Nothing major. **

**Fricken Awesome Questions Part 2 (with some spoilers):**

**Q. Are you sure this isn't a self-insert?"**

**A. Yes...**

**Q. Then why do you seem so similar to ZaXo in certain ways (music, manga... pen name)?**

**A. Every writer writes what they know. Most (not all) all of my 'good guy' characters have the same basic layout as ZaXo; they're immovable when it comes to morals, and caring for others. They usually have a strong sense of justice, and don't like to give up on anything. ZaXo is different in that he has a 'nice guy' sense of humor (kind of like me, but his is more innocent), he flies off the handle when someone is in danger, he inherently likes people (I don't, though I don't inherently hate people either), and he's extremely trusting (most of my other characters are the opposite, which is much more like me. I don't trust anyone at first. You have to earn it).**

**Q. So then what are some of ZaXo's other similarities to you?**

**A. He has my love of music and manga. But I only put that in in case I needed it. If I needed ZaXo to talk about himself at any point, or make conversation, I could always fall back on manga or music... because I KNOW them both. If I'd chosen biology and history, I'd have had a much harder time writing about it, because they aren't my 'fields of expertise'. So if you consider him being about 50% me, and 50% original (from what you know anyway) as a self-insert, then so be it. Just realize that I'll disagree, because I know a little bit more about myself than you do, lol ;)**

**Q. Why didn't you make Kaorin actually 'like' Sakaki?**

**A. I never said that she didn't... but in my opinion, I don't think she ever really did. Regardless, as a whole, I didn't feel it fit in here. It felt strange in the plot I created, so I kept it out, instead just making Sakaki a HUGE role model for her.**

**Q. The prologue and epilogue make it seem like everyone is psychic. Is that true, making this a partial alternate-reality fic?**

**A. No. It's not supposed to be like that. I just wanted a good way to come back and close the whole thing nicely. It was supposed to be like an extended deja-vu experience that brings the whole story full circle. I was trying to emulate the way Harry Potter is written. Every book starts at the Dursley's, and ends with him on his way back to the Dursley's. That always made me feel warm and cozy inside, like I wanted to read it all again right away.**

**Q. What's with the use of some non-Japanese music at the parts with singing?**

**A. I don't know how to say or write a lot of Japanese artist's names or song names in Roman letters. Not to mention, finding and translating lyrics that worked would have been difficult.**

**Q. Did you write the song Yomi 'wrote', called Better Than Heaven?**

**A. Yes, and you can find it on my FictionPress account, as well as many of my other songs.**

**Q. Why didn't you do a Lucky Star cameo?**

**A. Never seen it. Been told to a thousand times, but I never have. Doesn't mean I don't want to though :)**

**Q. What's with all the dreams? There are a ton of them in this fic.**

**A. Since they were a small part of the main series, and since they made up the prologue, I figured showing the 'soul' of the character, while having some fun in New Years Dream chapters would be cool. It references the series, and helps flesh out what the characters are thinking; who they are.**

**Q. Why do Sakaki and ZaXo end up together?**

**A. I felt that they matched the best. I thought about Yomi for a bit, and even contemplated Chiyo. They are also both very compatible with him personality-wise. But in the end that just didn't work (particularly because Chiyo's four years younger than him, and ZaXo wouldn't roll that way, lol). But I at least wanted to touch on the possibility of him ending up with someone else, so I early on decided to add in a chapter about Yomi liking him. In order to work though, I had to put it after Sakaki and him got together, or there wouldn't be enough drama.**

**Q. ZaXo almost ended up with Chiyo? *raises eyebrow* Really? Why?**

**A. Hey, don't get ahead of yourself there. He didn't almost end up with her. I just thought about it. If you take a second to look at it, if she was his age, I actually think she would match him better than even Sakaki. They are both innocent and playful in nature.**

**Q. You never really mention why and how things get better between ZaXo and Yomi after she confesses her love for him. Why not?**

**A. Because in my experience, there's no easy 'happy' ending to that sort of thing. You really just sort of have to get over it slowly. I could've just gave it some cheesy ending, but that would have been both silly, and non-truthful when it comes to that sort of situation. It wouldn't have felt canon within the story, so I decided to leave it somewhat open. Falling out of love with someone who doesn't like you back isn't easy, and there really isn't any realistic way to make it instantly happen in a story striving for realistic drama. How do I know so much about that sort of thing? Wouldn't you like to know ;)**

**Q. Are you proud of what you've written?**

**A. Yes. Even though my fic, Delicate Balance says otherwise, Higher Education is the most complete, and most well written thing I've ever done. Throughout these two years, I've learned a lot about writing, and even more about myself. The thing is, I knew I could write the serious bits. So story-wise, I'm probably most proud of the comedy, because I figured that would fall flat; but it didn't. What I'm absolutely the most proud of though, is the fact that people are reading it. They're actually reading it! And enjoying it... simultaneously, lol. Just like many others do with their own stories, I've worked extremely hard at making my fic a complete, enjoyable experience. And I think I succeeded.**

**Q. Any regrets?**

**A. Not really. I wish I could have done everything in much greater detail (which could very well have ended up around 500k words, done the way I would want to). And I wish I could have gotten more, really descriptive reviews while I was writing it. Who knows; that could have changed the entire outcome of the story. Several of the reviews and PM's I DID get changed the story... or at the very least modified my writing style. But I don't really regret anything about what I've written. It's better than I imagined, simply because I actually completed it, and I was able to successfully fit in the two pieces I wrote in the beginning.**

**Final Thoughts:**

**First off, I would like to thank everyone who read this, and everyone who will. I'll be connected to this for quite a while, so don't be afraid to tell people to read it and review it (shameless plug, lol?). If enough time is put into a review, I'll probably PM you about it, and talk to you about the story, as well as what you may be writing. I like to be hands-on with the people who read my writing, because they are the only reason it's even worth posting. I would also like to thank the great Kiyohiko Azuma, for changing my life in it's entirety. I wouldn't be writing, or drawing manga without Azumanga Daioh, because I wouldn't have had enough drive to get better. I have an actual future now, and one day, I want to really thank him for that in person. I would also like to thank Brandon Payne for inspiring me to write an epically large fic of my own. Seriously... read Forevergreen, as well as his other stuff. They're great. I hope someday he might decided to read this whole fanfiction (without me having to shamelessly plug it in a PM, lol).**

**This has been an absolute joy to write, and I'm kind of sad that it's over. But it will live on forever as long as people keep finding it. Once again, check out my DeviantArt account (ZaXo-KenIchi) to find the picture taken at the end of the epilogue. I drawded it myself :D And if you want to know more about ZaXo, as well as find some cool little nods to this fic, check out the prequel on my FictionPress.**

**Oh, and one last thing... Anonymous reviewer... the one that submitted the first review to Higher Education... you almost crushed my spirit before I even got this fanfiction off the ground. If you so happen to be reading this, I just have one thing to say:**

**What now bizzatch? Lol.**

**Hope you liked :) Love you all :D**


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